Memories of Water
by IceWolf645
Summary: Destiny is a young girl with the ability to summon and a strange amnesia. After being found by Wakka she is brought into a battle that will defy space and time! Please R&R! >
1. The Dragon in the Tides

Destiny: Memories of Water  
  
IceWolf645  
  
I don't own any of the FFX characters, aeons, or fiends, but Destiny, Sanya, Nathan, Ruka, and Oryon, and a few aeons are my own creations.  
  
Life goes on, as it never ends  
  
Eyes of stone observe the trends  
  
They never say forever gaze  
  
Guilty roads to an endless love  
  
There's no control  
  
Are you with me now?  
  
Your every wish will be done  
  
They tell me.  
  
Show me the meaning of being lonely  
  
Is this the feeling I need to walk with?  
  
Tell me why I can't be there where you are  
  
There's something missing in my heart. –BSB (Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely)  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter One: The Dragon in the Tides  
  
He spoke to me, if what he did you can call speaking. His mouth never moved an inch from the dangerous grin he held on his lizard-like face. His arms were crossed and he was looking down at me with such a human expression on his face that I couldn't believe that he truly was a dragon, and not some giant knight in a dragon helm, but the tail swishing back and forth from his rear end proved it. He looked proud, and somewhat noble, standing there in the water with the waves gently lapping at his feet. He stood before me and spoke, his voice flowing into my mind like the waves that surrounded my body. I can't remember ever being taught to swim, but I floundered there in front of the dragon helplessly. He guarded the beach, and I was afraid of him.  
  
(Why do you fear me, child?)  
  
I wanted to answer him, to tell him how magnificent he was and how tiny I felt compared to him, but my voice wouldn't come.  
  
(Are you going to run?)  
  
I thought about how stupid a question that was. Where was I to run to? I was surrounded on all sides. Surrounded on all sides by the sea.  
  
(Do you fear the waters?)  
  
I found my voice finally. "No."  
  
(Then swim to me!)  
  
And so I did. I still feared him, but I felt that if I went to him I might feel safer. As I swam I saw people on the beach, though I couldn't see them very well. They were covered with a gray haze that shrouded everything into a veil except the dragon. I finally stopped about a foot away from the monstrous creature, and realized that I was trembling.  
  
And for some reason, I was crying.  
  
(What do you wish to ask me?)  
  
The question caught me off guard. I realized that I wanted to ask him so many things, so I asked what I wanted to know most. "Who am I?"  
  
(You are Destiny.)  
  
"Destiny," I murmured, absorbing the name into my soul.  
  
(Yes. You are Destiny.)  
  
"What is going to happen to me? Why do I feel so sad?"  
  
(Those questions you must answer for yourself. Fate has chosen your path, and so you must follow it.)  
  
"But.. why don't I know anything? Do I have a past at all?" I asked, confused. I looked at the people on the beach. They looked so happy, and I couldn't remember ever feeling happy, or ever having another person by my side.  
  
(Everything has a past.)  
  
"Then where has mine gone?" I asked, looking into the dragon's solemn eyes.  
  
(It has been lost. You will find it again, in time.)  
  
"Will you help me?" I murmured, wanting the monster to stay there with me. I hoped that he would not leave me alone again. He paused, as if unsure how to answer my question.  
  
(I will help you. My power will be yours.)  
  
The dragon looked down at me and started to fade. "No! Please don't leave me!"  
  
(I'm not leaving you. Call my name if you are ever in dire need of help, remember, I am Bahamut. I cannot help you find your past, but I can help you be strong. You will need the strength.)  
  
Bahamut disappeared completely, and I started to feel weak. My knees buckled and I fell down into the water, and black clouds started to cover up everything in sight and I wanted to throw up. I felt my face fall forward into the ocean, and then everything went black.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
"Hey! Hey wake up, kid!"  
  
I opened my eyes slowly. There was sand beneath my back and I could see through my half-opened lids the blurry form of a man and two young girls. I blinked to clear my eyes a bit, and moaned.  
  
"You okay?" the man asked. He had reddish-orange hair that was sticking up in a tidal wave-like fashion. His skin was incredibly tan and he was holding under his arm a blue ball. I nodded.  
  
"We were worried you'd died out there or somethin'," the youngest looking girl said. She had shoulder-length, light blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She looked a bit worried, contrary with the look on the older girl's face.  
  
"Yeah! We been callin' to ya for about fifteen minutes, ya know?" the older looking girl said with a grin. She looked a lot like the man in the face, but her hair was dark black and it was about as long as her face. She had a blue headband around her forehead, and a silver necklace with a dolphin charm around her neck.  
  
The man helped me stand. "So, kid, what's your name, eh?"  
  
Bahamut's words echoed in my head. "Destiny," I replied, a bit unsure of myself. The man was looking at me strange.  
  
"Destiny, eh? Well, where ya from?" the older girl asked. She looked like she was constantly hyper or something. She radiated with a perpetual energy and was fidgeting a bit.  
  
I bit my lip. "I.. I don't know."  
  
"You don't know?" the blonde girl said. She scratched her head. "That's not good."  
  
"Do ya remember anythin' at all?" the man asked with a concerned frown.  
  
"I.. uh.. remember a dragon standing in front of the beach.. and.. yeah.." I stammered, realizing how stupid I must sound.  
  
The older girl started giggling. "I think you were dreamin', ya?"  
  
I smiled a bit. Maybe I was just dreaming. The man smiled to himself and shook his head. "Ah, well we better take ya to da village. You look a bit sick. My name's Wakka, and this is my daughter Sanya and her friend Ruka."  
  
He said all of it with a grin, but I couldn't help but feel that my appearance had disturbed him, and made a mental note to ask him about it later on.  
  
Sanya and Ruka walked beside me with grins on their faces, pelting me with questions to see if I could remember anything at all.  
  
"Do ya remember blitzball?"  
  
"What ball?"  
  
"Man! We gotta take you to Luca and let ya see a game or somethin'."  
  
"Oh! Oh! Do you know about summoners? Aeons? Lady Yuna?"  
  
"What, what, and who?"  
  
"Oh boy.. whatever got to you got to you bad."  
  
"Aww, c'mon! You gotta know about somethin' other than your name."  
  
"Not really."  
  
It continued in that way until we reached the village, which Wakka told me was called Besaid.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Besaid was a small village. The biggest building in it was a large stone one, behind a bunch of small huts. It looked very quaint, and I felt sort of at home there. I caught my reflection in a bucket of water outside the hut Wakka called his own. My long, pony-tailed blonde hair was messy, and my clothes were a bit torn. My azure eyes stared back at me. My light skinned face was covered with scratches and I looked like I hadn't bathed in weeks. I sighed unhappily, hoping I could wash soon. I sure was something to look at in my state. I bit my lip as I passed the bucket. I was aware that I hadn't even known what I'd looked like until that point. I felt the same as I had when first setting eyes on Bahamut.  
  
Wakka pulled the flap of his hut open and flashed a grin at me as the four of us entered. The hut looked nice enough. There were three beds and a hammock in it, and I marveled at they fit into the hut. A pile of the 'blitzballs' sat in the corner and a portrait of the family leaned against the wall. Wakka was there, along with a dark-haired woman with reddish eyes and his hyperactive daughter Sanya. Another portrait sat behind it, and I could barely make out a red-haired boy. I wondered if it was a younger Wakka, but decided against questioning about it.  
  
"I know it's a bit crowded, but we're movin' ya see?" Wakka said. He pushed some dolls off of the hammock. I bent down to look at one, and Wakka gripped my shoulder. "Best not touch them, ya? Those are magical dolls. Use the things wrong and you could end up fryin' your hair off," he warned. I promptly stood up and cautiously stepped away from them. Sanya laughed and kicked one into a box as a demonstration. Yellow lightning struck the box abruptly. I jumped.  
  
Wakka, Sanya, and Ruka doubled over with laughter. I couldn't see what was funny, but I laughed along with them. Wakka stopped and said between chuckles, "You can sleep on the hammock tonight, ya? Ruka's stayin' over too."  
  
Ruka nodded. "I live in Kilika. I came to visit Sanya 'cause my mom, her mom, and Lady Yuna are on vacation."  
  
"You mentioned Lady Yuna earlier. Who is she?" I asked.  
  
Wakka took my hand. "To answer that question we'll take ya to the temple.. err.. at least we will after ya wash up."  
  
Everyone started chuckling again. I started giggling myself. I did look a bit too ridiculous to present myself anywhere. I smiled at the three of them, feeling in my heart that I'd made my first three friends.  
  
But the look Wakka had given me when I'd woken up still filled my mind. I couldn't help but wonder why my appearance had affected only him in that way.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~ 


	2. Lady Yuna

**Once again, nothing that has been named in FFX is mine, just a few people and some aeons.**  
  
  
Chapter Two: Lady Yuna  
  
I came out of washing looking like a whole new person. No longer ragged and grimy, my long golden hair was swept over my shoulder in one of Ruka's hair bands and I was wearing some old clothes of Sanya's. Unfortunately, scratches don't wash off, so I still had about a hundred of those in various places. Ruka grinned as I reentered the cluttered 'house' and motioned to the hammock. "Wakka and Sanya are gonna be back with some dinner soon, and then it's off to the temple."  
  
"Okay," I said. This was fine with me, considering that I was famished. I was prepared to eat anything. It didn't take long for the father/daughter duo to get back. They were carrying four steaming bowls of some sort of soup, and Sanya had a grimace on her face stressing how hot it was.  
  
"Take it! Take it! Oh man, that's some hot stuff," Sanya said handing me one. Wakka handed Ruka hers and sat his in whatever free space he could find, before searching through one of the boxes. He pulled out four spoons and passed them out.  
  
"Eat up, okay? If I'm gonna tell ya exactly who Yuna is we're probably gonna be at the temple past midnight. The story takes a while to tell, ya?" he said, sipping down a bit of his soup. He shuddered. "It's a bit hot yet. I'd better get us somethin' ta drink, ya?"  
  
He walked out of the hut for a second and returned with a few glasses of water. Everyone accepted them gratefully. The soup was enough to light your tongue on fire. I knew first hand from taking an experimental sip. I decided to let it cool and set it off to the side.   
  
Sanya already had half of her soup drained. She seemed to like the heat, as long as it wasn't on her hands. "So," she said after she gulped down a few noodles and some broth, "when's the vacationin' trio comin' home, eh?"   
  
"Should be home tomorrow. They been gone for a week already," Wakka said in between slurps of soup and water.   
  
I was curious. "Where did they vacation to?" I asked. I wanted to fill my head with as much knowledge as I could. I felt very unhappy knowing so little.   
  
"They went to Guadosalam to visit the Farplane, and then to Luca to have a nice week away from guys and pestering, annoying offspring like us," Ruka said with a grin.  
  
I finally chanced a bit of my soup. "What's the Farplane?" I asked while slurping a noodle into my mouth. I knew it was bad manners, but not a person in the hut had really good manners.   
  
Wakka spoke up. "The Farplane is the place where dead souls rest after being sent by a summoner. It's the only old tradition that didn't die out after we beat Sin. Everythin' else is history, ya?"   
  
"Sin?" I questioned, wanting to know more.  
  
"You'll find out about Sin when you hear Lady Yuna's story," Ruka said. I contented myself with that answer and sat back, listening to the chatter that flowed back and forth across the room, trying in vain to absorb it all into my brain. It was mind boggling how much I had yet to know.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The temple turned out to be the large building I'd noticed before. I wasn't very surprised. None of the huts looked like they could house anything special. Wakka pushed the stone doors opened and beckoned me inside. Ruka and Sanya followed, but looking a bit serious for once. Statues filled the room. Each was a replica of a summoner, Wakka pointed out. He named them all and finally came to the newest looking statue in the room. It was of a young girl who looked no older than myself. She held a staff in her frozen hands and had a sweet smile on her face.  
  
"That," Wakka said, "Is Lady Yuna, the last summoner." He smiled at the statue and patted it, and then began to tell me the story.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Wakka was right. It was about midnight when he finally finished, and I found that I had tears in my eyes, as did Ruka, Sanya, Wakka, and the small crowd of young children and elders who'd gathered. Ruka leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I've heard it so many times, but I cry every time I hear it. It's worth it to hear it from everyone, but Lady Yuna doesn't like telling it that much."  
  
I could understand that. It's hard to try and tell or retell something that's sorrowful. I was crying like I'd cried when I'd first seen Bahamut. I cried, and I only halfway knew why. I remembered hearing Wakka say something about Bahamut. He'd called the dragon an aeon, the spirits that summoners called to assist them in times of need. It felt strange, in a way, to know that Bahamut had appeared to me and sent me to Besaid, the place where Wakka's story had begun.   
  
I let my eyes fall on Yuna's statue again, and realized that her smile was a sad one. I had a weird feeling in my stomach, and looked away. It was that feeling, the one where I wanted to cry and throw up. Wakka must've noticed, because he said, "Hey, you don't look so good. Better get ya to bed, ya?"   
  
I nodded and swallowed. I felt like I was going to faint, and staggered out wearily after my three friends.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It took me awhile to get to sleep that night, and when I did it was disturbed by strange dreams. Dreams of Bahamut. This time he was accompanied by two other creatures, a lion with an eagle's wings, and a fiery red bird. They spoke to me.  
  
"You are ready, are you not?" the lion said in a calm voice. He gestured towards the waters. "They call to you."  
  
I started. He was a powerful creature, but I couldn't help but trust him. His eyes were familiar, and so was the scar that ran down one of them. The bird wasn't as familiar, but I got the same feeling from it as I did from the lion. "May the strength of the past go with you," he said. His voice was peaceful and soothing. He looked at Bahamut, and the dragon spoke.  
  
"Give it time," he said, half to me, and half to the other beasts. They nodded, and one by one, faded into the darkness of the dream world, and I awoke.   
  
It was dawn outside already. I could hear Wakka conversing with Sanya and Ruka about me. I didn't want to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help it.   
  
"It is a lil bit freaky, isn't it?" Ruka was saying. "She wasn't there five minutes before we found her. I was looking out there."  
  
"Maybe you just didn't see her, ya?" Sanya said, sounding incredibly giddy for someone who'd probably just woken up.   
  
"I don't know..." Ruka said hesitantly. I heard Wakka sigh and speak up, a little bit sleepily.  
  
"Jus' drop it, ya? There's no reason to get all jumpy about it! She coulda been in a shipwreck or somethin'!"  
  
"You're probably right," Ruka replied reluctantly.  
  
I sat up. I knew what they were thinking. Wakka'd told me all about him yesterday. The boy, Tidus, had appeared in almost the exact same way that I had. I ran my fingers through my hair and lay back against the hammock. I didn't blame them for being suspicious. I was suspicious of myself, considering that I knew about as much about me as they did.   
  
I tried to make myself go to sleep again, but I couldn't. The sunlight was shining in on my face and birds were twittering their songs joyously in light of the new day. I sat up once more, and stood up from the hammock, all the while watching my feet for those strange dolls. I walked outside into the sunlight and welcomed it happily. The sky was full of fluffy white clouds and it was a pure blue. Wakka, Sanya, and Ruka were sitting outside enjoying the sun themselves.  
  
"Hiya Destiny!" Sanya said cheerfully. "It's about time you woke up!"  
  
Ruka turned her head around to look at me and said, "C'mon, sleepyhead! Breakfast is almost ready."  
  
"Okay." I sat down next to them and tried to get sight of whatever Wakka was cooking. It smelled delicious, and I was starving (again). I raised my chin a bit and tried to peer over Wakka's shoulder.   
  
"Hey! No peekin', ya? Wait 'til it's done," he said with a grin. I sighed and slumped back. I watched a few little kids playing for a while, wondering when Wakka would be done with whatever he was making, when a shadow appeared over Besaid. I raised my eyes into the sky and was greeted with the sight of a flying machine-thing that was bigger than the whole village itself.   
  
"Mom's home!" Sanya said. She jumped up from her sitting position and grabbed the back of my shirt. "C'mon! Ya gotta go see them with us." She pulled until I was standing, and then raced off down the road. Ruka jogged after her, and I followed, running to catch up with them. Wakka came behind me a few moments later, panting.  
  
"Whoa.. I'm not as young as I used to be, ya?" he said to Sanya. She grinned apologetically, and trotted out into the sands of Besaid Beach. The great flying-machine thing was landing in the water as smoothly as it could. People were waving from the dock happily. I recognized one of them as the lady in the portrait at Wakka's house, and the other as, of course, Lady Yuna. The third person was a blonde haired woman who could only be Ruka's mother, and the last person on deck wasn't even human. He was huge, and covered with bluish gray fur. A broken horn stuck out of his forehead and his face was pulled into an everlasting look of solemnity. He didn't bother waving. He just acknowledged our presence with a nod.   
  
"Kimahri came too! Hehe.. he's so much fun," Ruka said with a mischievous grin. She motioned towards the blue-furred creature. "Kimahri's a Ronso. He was one of Yuna's guardians during her pilgrimage. You remember hearing about him, right?"   
  
I remembered Wakka describing Kimahri vaguely. I nodded. "Yeah, I remember." I noticed the Ronso staring at me with his piercing yellow eyes. He seemed to be contemplating something. "I thought Kimahri went back to Mount Gagazet to help rebuild his home after Sin was defeated," I said.  
  
"He did for a while. He's too close to Yuna to keep himself away for long. He considers himself her permanent guardian, I guess," Ruka said, waving to her mother. A set of stairs was lowering itself from the flying thing to help the three women and the guardian down. I was surprised when another person came out with them, a bald man with a muscular body.   
  
"That's Cid, the local airship pilot," Wakka said. So that's what the big thing was called, an airship.   
  
"Yup! That's grandpa Cid!" Ruka said, rushing forward to greet everyone. Wakka and Sanya followed, and I trailed along behind. I felt sort of uncomfortable, especially with Kimahri's eyes burning into me as they were.   
  
"Hello everyone!" Lady Yuna said happily as she descended the last step. She embraced Wakka and the two girls joyously, and turned in a little circle. "So, what do you think?" She was wearing a dress that glittered in the morning sun and danced a small graceful dance to show it off.  
"Beautiful, Yunie!" Ruka said, clasping her hands together. Yuna bowed gratefully and smiled.   
  
And Kimahri's eyes penetrated my flesh, and for a moment I had the feeling that he knew more about me than I did. 


	3. The Soul Guardian

** Disclaimer: Same as before. ~_~; **  
  
^_^ Thanks for the reviews, all! ^_~ Sorry I took so long with this one. I'm tryin' to do a science project, ya? (Hehe.. Wakka-talk)  
  
  
Chapter Three: The Soul Guardian  
  
I couldn't help but feel a bit out of place among these people. No one but Kimahri had even noticed my presence, so I sort of shrunk back from them. It was a while before anyone noticed or remembered that I was standing there.   
  
"Oh! Hey everyone! This is Destiny, our new friend, ya?" Sanya said, grabbing my hand and dragging me forward. I smiled meekly and uttered a small hello.  
  
Yuna bowed. "It's nice to meet you, Destiny," she said with her face bearing the petite smile that suited her. "My name is Yuna."   
  
The dark haired woman from Wakka's family portrait examined me completely with her red eyes before introducing herself. "My name is Lulu," she said shortly. Her voice was slightly cold, and almost emotionless. "I see that you've already met my husband Wakka and daughter Sanya." I nodded, and she smiled a bit. I could tell that even such a half smile was rare of her by her attitude, and returned it.   
  
"I'm Rikku," the third woman said. She had a cheerful smile and an equally cheerful voice. She seemed to be the exact opposite of the icy Lulu. "I'm Ruka's mother." I grinned at her. I had a feeling she would be easy to get along with, like her daughter. Wakka and Sanya seemed to be that way as well.  
  
Kimahri turned to me. I couldn't read the emotion on his face. "Kimahri," he said, before walking past me, like it didn't matter to him whether I was there or not, but I could still feel a bit of uneasiness coming from him. His tail swished as he walked. He was heading in the direction of Besaid.   
  
"Kimahri's got a good idea, eh? The villagers'll wanna see ya, Yuna," Wakka said. Yuna nodded.  
  
"It's nice to be home," she said with a warm smile. She turned to Cid. "Are you coming to Besaid with us for a while? It would be nice to have you, Uncle."   
  
"Nah, I gotta get goin'. I'll see ya'll later," the man said. He turned to his airship and ascended the metal stairs.   
  
Rikku waved. "Bye Dad!"  
  
Ruka copied her mother, "Bye bye Grandpa!" She hugged him quickly and then returned to stand by her mother's side, waving energetically and standing on her tiptoes. She continued this until the airship had disappeared into beautiful blue sky, and then ran to catch up with the retreating Sanya. I followed slowly still watching the spot where the massive flying machine had vanished.   
  
Sanya was walking in between her mother and father, blabbering away happily, Lady Yuna was walking next to Kimahri slowly, observing the scenery around her, and Ruka and Rikku were conversing about the vacation the latter had just returned from.   
  
"Did you have a good time, mother?" Ruka asked, with a face of mock seriousness, like the vacation was the most somber topic in the world at the time, and being talked about in hushed whispers all over Spira. Rikku giggled and began telling her daughter every detail of their trip in an equally solemn tone, but one could tell that the two of them were suppressing laughter the whole time.   
  
We were walking quite slowly, in contrast to the race Sanya and Ruka had started to get to the beach, but I didn't mind. Besaid was a very calm and pretty place, and I was trying to get the lay of the land. I wasn't sure how long I'd be on the island.   
  
Kimahri stopped. He stared into the sky at a thin wisp of black smoke that had begun to rise over the native trees. Yuna stopped and put a hand on his arm. "What is it, Kimahri?"  
  
"Fire," Kimahri said pointing a clawed finger up at the smoke.  
  
"It's coming from Besaid!" Ruka said as she looked at it with one hand shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight. Yuna gasped and began to run towards the village with her Ronso guardian right behind her. Wakka and Lulu ran after them.   
  
"What do we do?" Sanya asked, her normally cheerful disposition vanishing and leaving behind a bit of timidity.   
  
"We've gotta help! C'mon you two!" Ruka said, running forward a few steps and then beckoning to Sanya and I. We followed her, our feet pounding into the ground to catch up with the adults.   
  
A screech blasted through the air, it was like a primal roar escaping from the mouth of some great prehistoric beast. As we neared the village our opponent became clear. An enormous leviathan was reducing the huts to cinders as it spewed blue embers upon them. It's fins left scars in the dirt and it was thrashing violently. It was like an overblown snake with a fin upon its back and two webbed hands.   
  
Lulu was trying desperately to stop the fires, but the snake's flames didn't even flinch under the water she was creating. The use for her magical dolls became apparent as they danced to summon the liquid. Wakka, Kimahri, and Rikku were battering at the monster desperately, Wakka with his blitzball, Rikku with her fists and the occasional magical weapon she threw at the beast, and Kimahri with his long spear. A few brave citizens attacked the beast as well, and some armored warriors who appeared to be Crusaders, the guardians of Spira whom Wakka had told me about during Lady Yuna's tale. Lady Yuna herself was helping people out of the blazing huts and performing her own spells on them to heal them.   
  
"What is it?" I asked Ruka, who was shaking with fear.   
  
"It's a water fiend, but how it got here I'm not sure! It must be mad, or ill, because water creatures never come to the village, and the land monsters around here aren't strong at all!" she said. She started into the fiery battlefield, trying to keep her cool as best she could under the conditions. Sanya and I followed.  
  
"How are we supposed to help them, eh?" Sanya asked. Her voice sounded panicky.   
  
"Let's try and put the fires out with Lulu! You know a Water spell right? Destiny and I can throw some Water Gems at the huts and you can help your mom out with the spells," Ruka said, handing me some blue diamond as she spoke. Sanya swallowed heavily and nodded before running to her mother's side. "C'mon," Ruka said to me. I nodded and followed her.   
  
We began to throw the Water Gems at the houses, but it was all in vain. The serpent's flames wouldn't be tamed by any force, and it appeared to be winning the battle against the people attacking it. Kimahri rushed at it with his spear pointed at its fleshy underbelly, but it was too fast for the Ronso. It sank its dagger-like teeth around his abdomen and threw him into the wall of the only building in Besaid that wasn't alight with sapphire flames, which was the temple. Kimahri collapsed instantly. Ruka screamed as she saw this, and Yuna rushed forward to help her guardian. I felt tears flowing from my eyes as I desperately threw the last Water Gem at Wakka's home. It had no effect.   
  
With hot tears blinding my charred face I staggered towards the snake, wanting to help in battle if I could not calm the fires. The snake's crimson eyes fell upon me as I walked towards it. I didn't want to see anyone die under the claws of this beast, especially since they'd been so kind to me. The snake backed away from its prey of the gray-blue beast man and the woman who knelt beside his fallen body summoning white magic down upon him, and it launched at me with it's deadly teeth glittering blue as they reflected the flames around it. I screamed out of fury. It was not only for the snake, but also for the feelings that were welling up inside me. I didn't understand why I felt the way I did, but I knew that I wanted the monster dead.  
  
I felt for a split second as if a part of me had disappeared. I saw for that second a golden-skinned dragon towering above all, with a sword raised in one clawed hand, and I saw the snake turn its head to the new threat that had appeared, I saw the fiend look into cerulean eyes, and then I saw darkness.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I woke up and felt pain coursing through every limb of my body. I groaned and tried to sit up. The world appeared to swim before my eyes as I tried to focus them. I was on a soft bed of some sort, and people around me were speaking in hushed voices.  
  
"Kimahri, are you sure you'll be okay?" I heard Yuna's voice ask. She sounded extremely concerned.  
  
The Ronso's voice replied, still sounding strong but wavering slightly. "Kimahri fine."  
  
I could barely make out the forms of the people surrounding me. I felt like I'd been hit with one of the columns of the temple. My mind was as fuzzy as my vision. I felt as if I was halfway remembering something, but in an instant the feeling had dissipated and I was left with my normal confusion. I could remember nothing of the battle besides what I had seen in those few seconds, and I was almost completely sure that that had been naught but a passing vision. With this though in mind I tried to force myself into slumber once more. I wanted the pain to pass.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Yes! You are the one!" the snake hissed at my body as it lay on the ground. He didn't notice me, the golden dragon, towering above him, ready to cleave his hideous form in two with the giant sword I held in my clawed hands. He noticed too late, as the shadow of my blade fell over my small form on the ground. He hissed out in anguish as sudden death fell upon him and he fell to the ground. Multi-colored lights unraveled from his slowly vanishing form, but he took the time to utter out a single threat before he was gone. "You don't belong here! You have changed the fates forever! Leave our world, and never return. Let the powers of nature do the deciding," he breathed. He writhed around on the ground, as if gripping to life, before he faded into nothing.   
  
I stood there with tears in my eyes as I overlooked what the leviathan had done to Besaid. No hut was left standing. 'Kimahri may die!' I thought as I looked at the destruction. The blue flames had faded with their master, but had left behind nothing but cinders and ashes, and the weeping people who'd called this peaceful place home. I looked at my claws. They were disappearing slowly, as was my whole body. I roared once in a voice that made the ground tremble before feeling my mind slip into unconsciousness.   
  
And I awoke still on the soft bed I'd been lying on when I'd fallen asleep. All was quiet and dark, aside from a few murmuring voices. I could again see clearly, and could make out the shapes of Wakka, Lulu, and Yuna sitting around a calm fire next to the remainders of the village. I felt my head begin to swim again as I tried to ponder the dream I had been given, the fantasy of being a golden dragon. I could hear them talk, even though they tried to keep it quiet.  
  
"Could she be a summoner?" Lulu asked, resting her chin on her hands. She looked distressed; the cold feeling was entirely gone from her.   
  
"Maybe," Yuna said quietly. She looked very distant, like she wasn't listening at all, but answering so to seem polite.   
  
Wakka sighed. "I got a weird feelin' from that girl the moment I saw her. There's somethin' fishy goin' on, ya?"   
  
Yuna nodded. She was looking straight past Wakka and Lulu, into the forest. I had a feeling that she wasn't really seeing or hearing anything. She was staring at the spot where the snake had fallen in my dreams. "But how?" she murmured aloud. Wakka and Lulu turned their heads toward her. "How could she summon an aeon that's never even existed before? There are no fayths left on Spira, there can't be." 


	4. A Crusader and a Blitzball

**Disclaimer: You know what goes here.**  
  
^_~ Once again, sorry for takin' so long. I've been workin' on my video games. Heh. This chapter will introduce to you Oryon, hehe.. and Destiny's memories, or at least a little flashback.   
  
Chapter Four: A Crusader and a Blitzball  
  
Fayths.. I'd heard the word before. They were the spirits of those who'd died in the war between Zanarkand and Bevelle a thousand or so years ago. They had the ability to grant a summoner with Aeons like Bahamut. I still remembered his majestic form, so powerful and yet so gentle, a knight in shining draconian armor. He was the dragon who had invaded so many of my dreams.   
  
Yet he wasn't the dragon I'd seen last. The dragon who had slain the serpent wasn't black with multi-colored, feathery wings. He was golden like the sun, and his eyes were like pools of deep water. He reminded me of something, or someone. Maybe that's why I'd fainted when I'd laid eyes on the creature, because I knew that my dream couldn't have been real.  
  
Dream away..  
  
I closed my eyes, and felt a sort of rushing feeling.   
  
You don't belong here..  
  
Water was all around me. The pressure was almost unbearable..  
  
I should have killed you when I had the chance..  
  
I couldn't breathe. I was suffocating.  
  
Should have annihilated your body and soul..  
  
Voices were calling to me. I couldn't move. I wanted to go towards them.  
  
I thought that you were gone!  
  
Whistling..  
  
Stop haunting me!  
  
Awakening..  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I blinked my eyes to remove the sleep from them and sat up. I'd dozed off. The sun was high in the sky, smiling down on the village smugly, as if it knew about the events that had occurred the day before. I squinted and turned my eyes away. Yuna was talking to a group of people next to the remainders of a hut. Wakka, Lulu, and Sanya were salvaging what they could from their home, and Rikku and Ruka were sitting by Kimahri, who was still sleeping as far as I could tell.   
  
I stood up, or at least I tried. As soon as I did I lost my balance and toppled over. I heard someone chuckling and turned. A man was standing behind me, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. He had long, pony-tailed, black hair and serious brown eyes. A large sword rested in a hilt that was strapped across his armored back. He looked a few years older than me, maybe twenty. I put both of my hands on my hips and glared at the amused look on his face. He glared back, as if challenging me silently to do something about it.   
  
"Oooh.. scary.." I commented before standing up again. I swayed once, but I kept my bare feet rooted to the ground. "And you are?" I asked.  
  
"Oryon," he said shortly. "I'm a Crusader." His brown eyes never moved from staring into my own blue ones as he spoke.   
  
"My name's Destiny," I said.   
  
"I know," he replied, smirking slightly. "You're the one who summoned the Dragon, right?" He chuckled to himself and shook his head. "You must be quite powerful, to be able to summon. And here's everyone thinking that Aeons were things of the past."  
  
I raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that I did it? Is it because I was so near the serpent when it appeared?"  
  
He smiled. "I wouldn't know, I never saw it. Everyone else is talking about it though."   
  
"Oh," I said. I noticed that he was very muscular. I wouldn't have liked to be on the other side of a fight with him, to honestly tell you the truth. He looked like he'd been fighting ever since he was a little kid. I wasn't afraid of him, though. He reminded me of something.. something, probably, from my lost past. I figured that maybe I'd met him before. I sighed as I thought and looked up into the sky and racked my brain for a sign of a memory.  
  
"Something wrong?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.   
  
"Oh! Uhm, no.. it's nothing," I said and blushed at the quizzical look he gave me. I was still getting an awkward feeling that I knew him, but I didn't say anything else, even though I didn't like the silence. It made me feel weird, plus Oryon was staring at me with those piercing russet eyes like he was taking me apart piece by piece. I had a strange feeling that he could read my mind. I shuddered mentally. It wasn't a very nice feeling.   
  
"You should meet our top man, Lady Yuna. He's our number one young Crusader, and we just recruited him last year," a man stated, pushing me rudely out of the way. I crossed my arms. I had the sudden urge to give him a black eye. "His name's Oryon Deltinger, from Bevelle," the man said, leading Yuna forward by the hand. Oryon rolled his eyes at the man when he had his back turned, and I started giggling. Oryon smirked as well, but restored his face to its serious self when the man turned around.   
  
Yuna bowed. "It's nice to meet you, Sir," she said gently. I could see a bit of distraction in her eyes, though. It was like she was thinking the exact same thing that I had been. She looked as if she knew this man.   
  
"Likewise," Oryon said with a small chuckle at the man, who I had grabbed by the collar and thrust behind me, just to get back at him. He cringed and stayed there. He was a wimp in wolf's clothing, you could say. Anyone could go around with a sword calling themselves a 'Crusader'.   
  
Yuna shook her head at me and put a hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter. She knew it was bad manners, but you have to admit, a girl grabbing a big, strong, muscular guy by the collar and throwing him off to the side like a rag doll would be pretty funny. The man sighed in despair and wandered off, kicking at a few pebbles on the ground angrily.   
  
"Oh! Destiny, that was mean," she chortled. I shrugged.  
  
"Hey! He pushed ME first. I have the right to defend myself," I said with a grin.   
  
Yuna smiled. "I guess you're right. I wouldn't have like it, either, if someone had pushed me. Though I'm not sure I would've done THAT, but.." she stopped and turned back to Oryon. "We're sorry sir."  
  
"It's fine," he said gruffly. "That was.. amusing."   
  
I felt the strange feeling again and excused myself. I didn't feel like trying to rack my brain for memories at that moment. I wandered around the village for a bit and sat on the temple steps to watch some kids playing with a blitzball for a while, listening to their conversation.  
  
"When I grow up, I'm going to be the best blitzball player on Spira!" a little girl with short brown hair and emerald green eyes said. "It's what Daddy would've wanted.." she said, tears springing to her eyes quickly.  
  
Her friend, a boy with curly black hair and turquoise eyes ran over to her. "Don't cry Shia! Daddy's in the Farplane now. He's with Grandma and Papa. I bet he's really happy there too!" He gave his 'sister' a hug and kissed her on the forehead.   
  
"B-b-but I didn't want Daddy to leave.. I-I told him to s-stay with us in t-the temple, but he didn't listen!" she sobbed, hugging her little brother back. I bit my lip. Her 'Daddy' had probably been killed by the serpent. I wondered briefly about my own father. What he'd been like, what his name had been, whether or not he'd looked like me, you know, that kind of stuff. After a while of thinking a fuzzy image popped into my head, but I couldn't make it out. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. Trying to remember things like that made me feel funny. It also lead to me wondering about my mother. What had she been like?   
  
I don't know how long I sat there trying to remember my family, but when I'd come back to reality, the two children were gone. The blitzball, however, still sat in the dust. I walked over to it and kicked it lightly. The blitzball brought back a brief memory. It was very wet and bright lights were shining everywhere. Other people were around me, and a large crowd was surrounding me. I felt like I was the center of attention. The crowd was cheering wildly, whistling, and waving banners in their hands happily. A buzzer sounded and half of the crowd gave a great rumbling shout of joy, while the other half stayed silent. Before I knew it the memory had passed, and I just stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the little blue and white-striped ball. What had I just remembered? Was that blitzball?   
  
I kicked the ball again, a bit harder than I'd meant to. It sailed through the air towards the temple, just barely missing an old man who was coming from its doors. He shook a fist at me angrily, and I shouted a quick apology before hurrying away.   
  
"Destiny, c'mere," someone shouted. I turned to the side, and saw Sanya waving at me from the pile of ashes that had once been a hut. "We could use some help, ya?"  
  
"Okay!" I shouted back, hurrying over to them. I would do anything to get my mind away from the past. 


	5. Teaching the Teacher

Thanks again for the reviews! I'm glad people like it. ^_^  
  
Chapter Five: Teaching the Teacher  
  
It didn't take long to move everything that hadn't been destroyed from Sanya's old house. I was glad of this, since the day was scorching hot. I could feel little beads of sweat trickling down my forehead, and I longed to take a nice break at the beach. I swept my hand across my face and plopped down next to Sanya, who was carefully picking out the dolls from the other salvaged items. I looked at them warily and decided to only help if I was asked. I didn't feel like getting fried, though it would be nice if one of the little things would let off a 'Water' spell.  
  
I could see the Crusaders bustling around. Some of them were standing around looking tough, obviously guarding the village from any more fiend attacks. Others helped the villagers. Oryon, the Crusader I'd met earlier, was talking to Rikku.   
  
"I'll see what I can do," he said gently. He motioned for one of the other Crusaders and whispered something into their ear.   
  
"Yessir!" the Crusader said proudly before running out of the village. I wondered vaguely what was going on, but I didn't think that it was my business, so I looked away. I looked instead at Wakka and Lulu, who were bemoaning the loss of the picture I'd seen before. The picture of the young, red-haired man that looked like Wakka.   
  
"That was the only one we had," Lulu said quietly. She rested her head against Wakka's shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. "It's irreplaceable."  
  
"I know," Wakka said solemnly, "but Chappu wouldn't want us to cry over it, ya? It's just a picture, I'm sure I've still got an old sphere around here somewhere with him on it. Don't get upset, okay?"   
  
Lulu nodded and pulled back. "You're right," she said. She smiled briefly, but then it was replaced by her normal, emotionless face. "Let's start packing everything up. We'll have to move sooner than we thought we would."   
  
I turned to Sanya. She had been listening too. "Um.. who's Chappu?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.   
  
She smiled. "I've never actually met him. He died a couple a years before I was born. He was my uncle, ya? Momma said.. she said that she was gonna marry him before he died."  
  
I twirled my hair around my finger and bit my lip. It was a tragic love story with a semi-happy ending. Lulu had lost Chappu and gained Wakka, his brother. It was sort of ironic.   
  
Sanya frowned and looked back over at her parents. "They said that we'll be moving soon, right? I don't wanna move yet. It'd be like abandoning my team in the middle of a blitz game."  
  
"Do you play blitzball?" I asked.   
  
She grinned widely. "Yup! I play for the Aurochs, just like pops over there did when he was younger. Hah! The team's a lot better now though, ya?"  
  
I giggled. She seemed very proud of being a blitzball player. "I'd like to see a game someday," I said.  
  
"Ya wanna see a few moves now? The adults don't need us right now, I think it'd be okay if we went down to the beach," she said, grabbing one of her father's blitzballs and twirling it on her finger. I nodded. "Okay then, lets g-"   
  
"You weren't thinking of leaving me here with those boring people, were ya?" Ruka asked, sneaking up from behind Sanya and grabbing the ball. "It's not gonna happen!"  
  
I chuckled and rose to my feet. "Well, if everyone's present and accounted for, then let's go," I said.   
  
"Wait just a second and I'll go ask pops," Sanya said, skipping over to her parents. Any sadness that had been in her at the mention of leaving Besaid had vanished. It didn't take much to make her happy, I supposed. I heard her complaining loudly about something, and she returned with an indignant frown. "Pops says that we have to get one of the Crusaders to go with us. He said that there might be other snakes out there and that he doesn't want us to get hurt," she said with a scowl.  
  
"I wouldn't mind a Crusader coming with us," Ruka said, eyeing Oryon. She had a small, mischievous smile that made it easy to tell exactly what she was thinking.  
  
Sanya glared at her. "Well I would! We can take care of ourselves, ya? We don't need no stupid Crusader to baby-sit us!"   
  
Ruka grinned. "Well I'm gonna ask that one anyways," she said. She pointed at Oryon and chuckled.   
  
"Traitor!" Sanya growled, and she stormed away in a huff.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I was surprised when Ruka returned with Oryon. He'd consented to coming with us, and Ruka looked like the happiest girl on Spira. She winked at me behind the man's back and giggled. I rolled my eyes. Oryon had the smallest trace of a smile on his face, and I knew that he was well aware of Ruka's little crush on him. I wasn't quite sure whether he thought it funny, or whether he liked her as well, though. It was hard to read his emotions.   
  
We walked to the beach, chatting about various things nonchalantly. Oryon was mostly silent, but he'd add in a comment every once in awhile. He walked slightly behind us, keeping his eyes locked in front of him and listening for any sign of a disturbance behind him. I could tell that he'd been training to be a Crusader for his whole life. He took it a little too seriously, in my opinion. Sin had been defeated, and fiends were rare, and large fiends like the one that had attacked Besaid the day before (or was it two days before?) were even more uncommon, or so Wakka had told me.   
  
We arrived at the beach in about fifteen minutes, and I immediately ran for the water and went out until it reached my knees. Then I dipped myself under and soaked for a while before returning to the surface. I felt at home in the water. It was a nice feeling to have all of that wonderful clear liquid against my slightly tan skin. I smiled to myself and dived under again, resurfacing farther out.   
  
"Hey! You wanna see some blitz moves or what?" Sanya asked tossing the ball into the air and catching it again.   
  
"Alright, I'm coming!" I yelled to her. I swam back to the sandy beach and walked near her. "Show me what you can do."   
  
She grinned and started doing all kinds of tricks with the ball. I was impressed. She looked like she'd been doing that her whole life. At the end she kicked the ball at me and looked surprised when I caught it. "Eh.. I was tryin' to surprise you. Guess I should work on that, ya?" she said putting her hands on her hips. "Why don't you try to kick it. Lemme see if you're fit to be a blitzer. Maybe I'll teach ya somethin'."  
  
"Okay," I replied. I set the ball on the ground and made the motion to kick it, but before I could finish a strange feeling overcame me. I let my foot fall back to the sand and bent down to pick the ball up.   
  
"What's up?" Sanya asked. I didn't answer. I stared intently at the ball and felt my lips form a frown. I felt like something was bubbling up inside of me, and that it was trying to get out. "Destiny?"   
  
I grinned slightly. I felt sort of funny, but it wasn't a bad feeling. I threw the ball into the air and did a quick back flip. I felt my bare feet connect with the ball and send it flying straight back at Sanya. She hadn't been expecting a kick like that, so while she was still gawking at my strange behavior the ball caught her in the stomach. She doubled over and I snapped out of my little trance almost immediately. "Oh no! I'm so sorry!" I cried apologetically. I rushed over to her and helped her stand up straight again. She groaned and rubbed where I'd hit her.   
  
"Ugh.. it's okay," she grunted. "It's my fault, I wasn't watching." She looked at me and squinted at me, like she was trying to see through me. "I thought I was gonna teach you some things, but it looks like you already know. That was a Sphere Shot."   
  
I blinked. I had no clue what a Sphere Shot was, but obviously I'd just done one. I smiled awkwardly. "I don't know what happened," I said helplessly. I wasn't quite sure what was happening to me.  
  
She frowned. "You were actin' kinda weird. Maybe you was havin' some kinda flashback."  
  
"Maybe," I said uncertainly.   
  
Ruka grinned at me from where she'd been watching (which was, by chance, right next to Oryon, who looked slightly annoyed) and said, "Don't feel bad for hitting her! That was awesome! I bet you were a blitzer, or related to one before ya lost your memory. This'll make it a lot easier to find your folks."   
  
Sanya let her normal joyful smile return to her face and said, "Yeah! We could take ya to Luca this year at tournament time, and your mom and dad will probably be there! They'll see ya, and you can go home with them, ya? It'll be fun to have a trio of us girls in Luca anyways. The more the merrier, and I don't feel like being there with just Ruka and Nathan."  
  
Ruka stuck her tongue out at Sanya in a slightly immature way. The dark haired girl decided to ignore her friend and continued on and on about what we could do when we got there. I interrupted her, because she sounded like she wanted to go on and on forever, and asked, "Uhm.. who's Nathan?"   
  
"Oh! Nathan's my boyfriend," Sanya said with a blush. Ruka, at the mention of boyfriends, edged closer to Oryon, and he looked at her disdainfully. She didn't notice. "He's away in Bevelle visiting his family, but he'll be back in a few weeks."  
  
I smiled at her and said, "Oooh, I see." Her face was beet red, and she threw the ball at me lightly. I caught it and threw it at Ruka, who was talking to Oryon and didn't notice. Oryon chuckled as it hit her in the back of the head, and picked it up from where it had rolled to the ground. Ruka turned around and started shouting at me for hitting her, and Oryon passed the ball back to me. I threw it to Sanya and Sanya in turn threw it at Ruka. It hit her in the shoulder this time.  
  
"SANYA! You know I can't catch!"   
  
"Well, you're gonna have to learn!"  
  
We played a game of monkey-in-the-middle, in which Ruka was the monkey, and even managed to make Oryon laugh and join in with us. I threw the ball into the shallow part of the water, and Ruka hurried towards it giggling madly. She bent down to pick it up, and stood up straight. She was about to force me to be the monkey, but we were slightly distracted by Oryon, who was looking towards the sea.   
  
"Ah. I see Ryuu has finally decided to come."  
  
A boat was sailing towards us. It was extravagant, with bright colors and a prow that was carved in the likeness of a sleek dragon head, with glittering emerald eyes and ivory teeth. Two wings extended from the middle and claws were painted intricately on the sides. The vessel was huge and magnificently grand.   
  
"Ryuu's coming? Wow!" Ruka squealed, practically jumping with excitement.   
  
I looked at Oryon with confusion. "Who's Ryuu?" I asked curiously.   
  
Oryon smiled grimly. "He's the 'leader' of the Crusaders. They call him Hawkeye. You'll see why when his little toy lands. He's the son of a rich noble." He looked scornfully out at the boat and I could tell that he had some sort of grudge against this Ryuu character. "He doesn't deserve his position, the little swindler," he growled so that only I could hear.  
  
"Oh?" I asked quietly.   
  
"Nevermind," he said quickly before turning away and folding his arms across his chest. "Forget it."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~ 


	6. They Call Him Hawkeye

I'm adding another little verse to this. I was listening to 'Gone' while writing it. ^_^ It is such a Yunis song.  
  
I've been sitting here  
Can't get you off my mind  
I'm tryin' my best to be a man and be strong  
I drove myself insane wishing I could touch your face  
But the truth remains, you're  
Gone  
  
  
Chapter Six: They Call Him Hawkeye  
  
The dragon ship was nearing the island at a remarkable speed for a ship like itself. Waves roared along its side as it skimmed through the water gracefully. I was awestruck. I loved the water, and to travel over the oceans on a vessel with such grandeur would be an honor. I wondered why Oryon hated Ryuu so. Was he, perhaps, jealous that whoever this person was had gotten a higher title than him? It seemed to me that anyone who could command all of the Crusaders should be competent enough.  
  
I heard the sound of feet pounding the sand behind us, and turned to see some of the villagers, most of the Crusaders, Wakka, and Lulu arriving. They'd probably seen the ship from Besaid. I noticed that Rikku and Yuna hadn't come, and I remembered that Kimahri had been wounded in the battle. They were probably taking care of him.   
  
Something clicked in my mind as I watched all of the Crusaders that had been in our village lining up, Oryon in front of them. I leaned over to Ruka and asked, "Hey, Ruka, how did these people get here so fast?"  
  
"You were asleep for two days after the attack. We called the Crusaders for help via one of our newest creations, a Sphere Messenger, and soon enough they came by one of the new airships Grandpa Cid's been making. It's so much easier traveling on airships, but most of them, other than the one momma came here on, are even smaller than a boat. That's why Ryuu and his fleet are coming on the 'Draconis'," she replied, staring out at the enlarging vessel. 'Draconis' was definitely a proper name for it.  
  
"I never knew that Ryuu was coming. It was only an overgrown fiend, ya know?" Sanya said.  
  
Wakka, who had made his way to us with Lulu, laughed dryly and said, "Heh, I'm not surprised. There hasn't been a reason for the Crusaders to get so worked up in twenty years. People panic when they hear about this stuff, ya? I don't know what everyone'd do if Sin ever came back!"  
  
Lulu nodded gravely. "This is a big deal in a world where there had been no trouble for a decade, not counting minor fiend attacks, but those were dealt with quickly."  
  
"Ya. There's also that aeon, but I'm sure they'll bring that up when the time's right," Wakka agreed. I turned away and felt myself blushing. I didn't really want to delve into that topic either. I still didn't really think that I could've summoned the beast. I was a girl with hardly any memories of my own family, how could I possibly remember how to unleash a golden dragon onto a serpent? I was filled with confusion, and I wanted time to sort my mind out before we got down to what they thought I'd done. Not to mention that the little Sphere Shot episode only a while before had boggled me enough.   
  
I turned away from my thoughts and saw that the ship was docking. The Crusaders filed forward and stop a few meters away from the docks. There were only about twenty of them. Each one of them looked proud, strong, and noble. Their armor glinted in the sunlight and they stood upright in a dignified manor. I saw the wimpy guy from before, the guy that I'd thrust out of my way because he'd shoved me. I snickered to myself. He was lagging a bit behind.   
  
The ships anchor lowered and a little ramp was set up to it by a few eager villagers, a few of them girls who were chattering in anticipation of seeing Ryuu up close.  
  
"Oh! He's so cute! I've seen pictures of him."  
  
"Wouldn't it be nice to have a Crusader like him for a husband?"  
  
Almost all of the little shouts and squeals were in the same manner. Sanya grabbed my hand and dragged me to the front of the crowd. Ruka was right by her side.   
  
"Look! There he is!" one of the many girls surrounding the 'Draconis' shouted crazily. She was waving her hands in the air and jumping up and down like a kangaroo.   
  
"Where is he?" I asked Sanya, peering up onto the deck, searching the many Crusaders' faces for any trace of a certain style that would mark him off as the leader. Ruka, who was acting like the girl who had shouted earlier, pointed.  
  
"There! There! There he is! Ooh!" she screamed, all thought of Oryon lost from her mind. I followed her finger, and saw the man that stood in front of all of the others. And like Oryon said, I knew instantly why they called him Hawkeye.  
  
A man with an arrogant smile and piercing golden eyes stared out at the crowd. His medium-length black hair swayed softly in the breeze, sometimes letting his bangs get in the way of his fearsome eyes. His glare was intense, like that of a hungry raptor searching for its prey. He wasn't as well built as Oryon, and he didn't look as solemn and tough, but he had the kind of air that made you want to believe every word he said. He didn't have to look like a leader, he felt like a leader.   
  
"Hello, hello," he said, stepping forward and descending the ramp. With a motion of his hand fifty or so Crusaders followed. One of the girls was standing right in front of him, frozen where she stood with wide eyes and a trembling body. "Well, now, what pretty thing do we have hear?" Ryuu asked, and he kissed her hand. She almost fainted, and she moved out of the way.  
  
"He kissed me!" she said excitedly to her jealous looking friends. They sighed and pouted, all wishing in their minds that it could've been them.   
  
Ryuu walked up to Oryon and the latter saluted. Ryuu nodded at him and the order was given that all Crusaders were to stay where they were. Ryuu began pacing through the ranks, checking each of the soldiers, checking that they were in adequate health, etc. He passed through the soldiers that stood nearest to me and paused for a moment. His golden eyes locked in with mine for a split second, and then with a small smile he broke the connection. I shuddered. I didn't like him. I wasn't impressed by him at all, and I felt sorry that I'd doubted Oryon's judgment. He felt, in a way, the same as Oryon had the first time I'd seen him, though. I had this strange feeling that I knew him, and I knew deep down that I hadn't liked him at all. I watched as he walked back to the front of the Crusaders, and he waved his hand. They instantly relaxed.   
  
"Very good," he said, "Oryon has been keeping you all in nice condition." He nodded at Oryon, and the serious-faced Crusader relaxed his tensed muscles as well. "I certainly hope you've been keeping Besaid safe. I'd be sorely disappointed if such a rapidly strengthening bunch hadn't." He turned to the villagers, and all of them nodded happily, some blushing to have his fearsome gaze upon them. "Good," he said. He had a strong voice. It was one that people liked to hear. "Then let's go and see what more we can do for Besaid."   
  
As he finished speaking, the people broke out into applause and began cheering wildly. He smiled at them all, causing the girls to giggle madly. I did nothing.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Everyone went back to the village, Sanya, Ruka and I included. It was quite crowded with so many people, but work was beginning to go a lot faster. I wasn't needed, so I followed the two friends into the temple, where Kimahri was resting.   
  
I walked through the doors slowly and saw Yuna on her knees tending to the giant feline-like creature. A large bandage was wrapped around his waist and was slightly crimson from where a bit of blood had leaked through. Kimahri was awake, and his yellow eyes followed us as we came in.  
  
"Hi Kimahri," Sanya said, kneeling down beside him. Ruka and I followed her example. Rikku walked slowly into the room with a jug of water and let Kimahri have a drink. He groaned as he sat up and took a small swig.   
  
"Hello," he said after lying back down.   
  
"How're you feeling?" Ruka asked gently.   
  
Kimahri sighed. "Kimahri feel better. Be better soon."   
  
"That's good," Ruka said. She patted the Ronso on the arm and grinned. Kimahri let his gaze fall on me.   
  
"Yuna say Destiny summon Dragon, save village, save Kimahri. Kimahri thank," he said. He smiled a slightly scary smile and turned away.   
  
I didn't know what to say. I couldn't say 'you're welcome' because I didn't really believe it myself. I found myself wondering whether it was true. Had my dream been more real than I'd believed it? I smiled meekly back at him and placed my hands on my lap.  
  
Who am I? 


	7. Invaded Dreams

^_^ Things are just getting started! ^_~ Does anyone have an idea of what Destiny's past was yet? I wanna know what you think. ^.^   
I wanted to add a bit of Linkin Park's 'In The End' to the beginning of this chapter, but unfortunately the part I wanted to add was a little too big. Just listen to the words of the song next time you hear it, okay?   
  
Chapter Seven: Invaded Dreams  
  
It was later on. The sky was a deep dark blue and speckled with shining stars. A crescent moon watched over the quiet village. Most people had fallen asleep, but I was restless. I fidgeted under my warm covers wishing that the sun would peep over the horizon, just so that I could go and do something. I was incredibly bored.   
  
Ryuu and a few of his men were still awake. For a moment I considered walking over to join them, since Oryon was one of those men and I felt that he would certainly allow me to listen and chat for a while, but I was wary of the golden-eyed man who was smiling unnervingly at his men and seemingly informing them of new orders. Oryon looked very angry. He had one hand clenched in a fist and even from where I was lying I could see his eyes narrowing. Curious, I strained to listen.  
  
"We're leaving in the morning," Ryuu was saying. "The Besaid villagers are coming with us. They shall reside elsewhere until we can get a proper crew in here to rebuild this rabble."   
  
Oryon frowned. "Have you asked the villagers what they think about this plan?"   
  
Ryuu looked at him scornfully. "I don't need to. They'll do whatever I say without question. It's best for them anyways," he said in a sickeningly arrogant tone. I felt the urge to slap him, or even better, punch him right in his little pride-filled face. Maybe I could break his nose if I did that. I was stronger than I looked.  
  
"They have a right to decide," Oryon protested. He crossed his arms and in the light of a fire flickering nearby, I noticed how dangerous he looked. I also noticed for the first time that his arms were covered in scars, probably from battles with treacherous fiends that had taken place in the past.   
  
A small memory flashed in my mind for a split second, and then it was gone. It was of a person, though I couldn't quite make him out. He/She had been saying something to me in a low growl of a voice, but again, I couldn't understand what was being said. I sighed and tuned my ears back towards the Crusaders. Ryuu was speaking.  
  
"Now, go to the docks and tell them to be ready to leave by noon tomorrow. I'm going to talk to Lady Yuna. I wish for her to come along with us," he said, with a glare at Oryon, who had merely closed his eyes and uncrossed his arms.  
  
"Fine," he grumbled, in almost the same voice as I'd heard in my memory. I confirmed in my head what I'd believed. I had known Oryon, and I would consult him about it in the morning.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I'm not sure how long it took me to fall asleep, but I do know that when I did that I began to dream, because the dream I had that night was so vivid and real that when I woke up I was sure that I would see what I'd seen there. I can still describe it perfectly, even now.   
  
Oryon stood before me, looking as impassive as ever. I walked forward and took a good hard look at him. He seemed different somehow. "Oryon?"   
  
He smiled. "Perhaps. It's been quite a while since I've last seen you," he said gruffly.   
  
I was puzzled. "We saw each other this morning, remember?"   
  
He sighed. "I think it is you who needs to remember. You don't even know where you come from."  
  
"Do you?" I asked with a sneer. If I didn't know, than certainly he didn't.   
  
"Perhaps," he said with a chuckle.   
  
My eyes must have lit up, because he laughed again. "My memory is a little fuzzy lately as well. I believe that I know where you come from, but I'm not sure if I'm correct, so we'd best leave it at that," he said, and a second later he vanished. I jumped, startled.   
  
"Oryon?" I called.  
  
"What do you want him for? He'll give you nothing but cryptic answers and lousy guesses, you know," a voice said, a little off to my side. I turned quickly. The voice was Ryuu's, but all I saw was a tiger, or more precisely, a black tiger with electric blue stripes. His smile was almost human, and it showed off his ivory colored canines well. His blue eyes watched me with loathing. I hated him, and my face must've shown it, because he said, "Oh, come now Destiny. That's no way for such a beauty to be looking. You look too much like the beast dwelling within you that way."   
  
I raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?" I inquired.  
  
He laughed, sounding crazy and furious at the same time. "I AM YOUR NIGHTMARE!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I awoke with sweat beading my forehead. The sun was shining in the sky, and people were bustling around me busily.  
  
"Ryuu says that we're leaving today.  
  
"I wonder where we're going?"  
  
"I don't care where we go, as long as Ryuu's on the same boat as I am!"  
  
I laughed dryly. These people had no idea of that man's true nature. They were naïve, and now I knew how Ryuu had so easily talked them into leaving. He was right. They would listen to every word he said.   
  
I felt someone pull me off of the ground and found myself looking into Wakka's face. "Good morning, sleepy head," he said, releasing me. "I was just comin' to wake ya up. We're movin' out, so grab a box and meet us down by the docks, okay?"   
  
I nodded and walked over to all of the packed boxes, then hurried back to Wakka's side. "Where are we going?" I asked.   
  
"Zanarkand," he grunted. I blinked. Zanarkand was the ruined city that Wakka'd told me about in the story of Yuna's pilgrimage.   
  
"I thought Zanarkand was nothing but ruins," I said, trying my best to avoid falling and breaking whatever was in the box. I hoped that there weren't any of Lulu's dolls in there.   
  
Wakka sighed. "It used to be like that, but with Sin gone we decided to rebuild it. There was no use in keeping it as ruins, ya? It's a nice place now. You're gonna go there with us. Cap'n Ryuu wants ya to," he said. I grimaced. I didn't care what 'Cap'n Ryuu' wanted.  
  
Sanya came jogging up next to us carrying a box labeled 'my stuff'. I giggled. If all of their boxes had been labeled like that then they would have quite a time sorting everything out. Sanya grinned at her father.  
  
"So, Pops, you got any reasons for why the whole village is goin' with us? I just woke up, ya?" she questioned.   
  
"Ryuu gave orders to evacuate. Everyone's leavin' on the Draconis," Wakka said.   
  
Sanya smiled coyly. "The Draconis, eh?" Wakka eyed her suspiciously.  
  
"You got somethin' for Cap'n Ryuu like all the other girls in this village?" he asked.  
  
Sanya grinned. "Maybe, maybe not. What about you?" she asked, turning her head towards me.  
  
"Nah. He's not my type," I replied. She shook her head exasperatedly.   
  
"Well, I think he likes ya. He was watchin' ya yesterday, ya know?" she said slyly.   
  
I frowned. "I don't like him. He can forget about it," I said with an air of finality. She got the hint and shut her mouth. I focused myself on the road in front of me, and shut all thought of the pompous yellow-eyed man out of my head.   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~ 


	8. Starlight and Rain

^_^ Don't have any guesses, eh? Oh well... hopefully all will become clear in the chapters I already have planned out. (Named tentatively: Dancing with the Enemy, No Strings Attached, and Untrustworthy.)  
  
Oooh, it feels so good  
When you let go of all the drama in your life  
Now you're free from all the pain,  
Free from all the games,   
Free from all the stress,  
So find your happiness.  
I don't know,  
Only God knows where the story ends for me,  
But I know where the story begins,  
It's up to us to choose whether we win or lose,  
And I choose to win! -No More Drama (Mary J. Blige)   
  
Chapter Eight: Starlight and Rain  
  
I smiled to myself as the grand ship's sails unfurled. The salty ocean air tingled in my nostrils as we began to sail away from the tiny island. I looked out into the horizon and saw what looked like an eternally long sheet of cerulean. I leaned over the side to see if I could spot a dolphin, or maybe a seal, swimming gracefully near the glassy surface.   
  
"You're going to fall in if you lean over any further."  
  
I pulled myself up and turned. Oryon stood a ways behind me with a smirk on his face. His muscular arms were crossed over his chest and he chuckled. "When you lost your memory, you must have lost any caution you might have had with it."   
  
"I'm not afraid of the ocean," I stated, turning back around and peering out to see if a splash that I'd heard was what I'd hoped.   
  
"You should be. The sea is home to some of the most deadly fiends," Oryon said, walking over to my side.   
  
I clicked my tongue and asked, "There can't be many more like that snake, can there?"   
  
He laughed. "Think what you want. The sea used to be Sin's home. There are more deadly things than sea serpents out there."   
  
I frowned. "Like what?"   
  
He appeared to ponder the question, and then answered, "The last time I was on this ship, the largest fiend ever sighted in a decade passed right under us. There were rumors of it being a water dragon, but we never got that close of a look at it. Luckily, it was either blind or wasn't very hungry. Normal dragons are nasty beasts. That thing is probably still out there somewhere. We've been keeping an eye out for it, but the sea is vast. Most likely it'll never be seen again."   
  
I chewed my lip for a second. A fleeting image of the majestic Bahamut passed through my mind. Could that great creature of such beauty and magnificence be the dragon Oryon had seen? I had, after all, met the beast while standing in the sea.   
  
"Are you okay?" I heard Oryon ask. I snapped out of my little daze.  
  
"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking," I said, feeling my face turn red. He chuckled.   
  
"Despite your looks, you must be a deep thinker. I called your name three times," he said with a teasing grin.   
  
I put my hands on my waist and said with mock anger, "Despite my looks? What, I don't look like the intellectual type?"   
  
"Maybe," he chuckled, "if you're comparing yourself to that Ruka girl."   
  
"Aww, that wasn't nice," I said. He just laughed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I wished, as I walked through the crowded Draconis, that there weren't so many people on the ship. The trip would've been so much more fun if it had been simply Sanya, Ruka, Wakka, Rikku, Lulu, Yuna, Oryon, Kimahri, and me. I could do without Ryuu and his little swarm of fans. It made me sick to see how they all worshipped the ground he walked on. I spent a lot of time with Oryon, who held the same hatred towards the unnervingly calm man as I did. Ruka and Sanya were a part of Ryuu's fan group, so I couldn't hang out with them unless I wanted to follow him around, and most of the adults spent their time with Kimahri, whose wounds hadn't quite healed yet, though he was strong enough to walk around then. Every once in a while Yuna or one of her ex-guardians would sit down and talk with me about things that had happened in the past twenty years, seeing if they could maybe spark a memory in my deprived mind. It was at one of those times that I got Yuna to tell me her version of the 'Final Pilgrimage', as it was called.  
  
I learned of how she'd felt so close to the boy, Tidus, even when she'd first met him. She told me that for almost two years after Sin had been vanquished, she had stood on the dock of Besaid every day, whistling and waiting for her lost love. I wondered whether I'd ever been in love, as I sat there, tears rolling down my face. She hadn't cried, but I could see that it hurt her to talk about it, so I didn't urge her to go any further than she did. She seemed grateful for that.   
  
"I never dreamed that Spira would ever see me as a leader, but they do, so I do my best," she said. "I was strong for them, and they took after my example and learned to be the same."  
  
I wiped my eyes and stared out into the night, where the stars sparkled innocently, and wondered if the souls in the Farplane that had been torn from life by that abominable creature, Sin, matched the number of those heavenly objects.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The ship lurched as storm clouds gathered above it and the sky grew gray. Raindrops began pattering down onto the wooden deck of the ship, causing a few moans from playing children and a frown from the elders.   
  
I didn't move from my spot on the deck. Rain didn't bother me in the least. It felt good, in fact, and I relished the nice cool feeling I got from the little droplets.   
  
"Yo, Destiny! Get somewhere dry, ya? You wanna get shocked or something?" Wakka called from under the stairs. I sighed and walked over to him gloomily as a fork of lightning passed overhead and thunder rumbled in the distance.   
  
'Great,' I thought, 'a little bit of rain and it has to turn out to be a thunder storm.' We headed below deck and I wondered over to Sanya and Ruka, who were pouting in a corner.   
  
"Why does it always rain when you're doing something fun?" Ruka asked.   
  
"Fun? You mean like chasing Mr. Yellow-Eyes?" I said, winking at her.   
  
"Hey, I can't help it if you don't have any taste in guys," Ruka joked.   
  
"Please! Ryuu's about as attractive as a frog with chicken pox," I said.   
  
"You gotta get out more, ya? Ryuu's one of the best lookin' guys Spira's seen since Yuna's old boyfriend, and he was a cutie too," Sanya said, looking a bit exasperated with me. I shook my head and rolled my eyes.  
  
"What about your boyfriend, Nathan?" I asked.   
  
Sanya blushed. "He won't care if I follow Ryuu around for a while, especially if he doesn't know about it."   
  
I began to laugh, but I was thrown forward when the ship rocked violently to the side. A great thud was heard from the outside. I sat myself up. "What was that?"   
  
My question was answered as one of the shipmates ran down the steps, looking scared out of his mind. "Fiends! They're trying to get on the ship!"   
  
Everyone panicked. The villagers started screaming and babies began to cry. Children tried to cuddle closer to their mothers, as a roar echoed from above. Oryon appeared with his massive sword strapped across his back. "Everyone, stay calm and stay where you are!" He began up the steps, followed by a few other Crusaders and, not long after, Ryuu himself.   
  
"We'll handle this," Ryuu said calmly. "There's nothing to worry about." He headed up to the deck with a brave smile on his face, and I heard Sanya and Ruka whispering excitedly behind me.   
  
"If Ryuu says that everything'll be alright, then I'm not worried!" Ruka said with a grim smile.  
  
I shook my head. How could they possibly trust that man so much? 


	9. The Call To Fight

Thank you so much for your support Akiko Manami. ^_^ I'm glad you like my story.   
It'd be nice if I got a few more reviews, but I'm gonna finish no matter how many people actually read it. If you do read it, though, could you please review? Pretty please with a cherry on top? It makes me feel good to see the little number up at the top go up one, and it makes me wanna write the next chapter out more. I've just finished planning the story in my head, and it's not anywhere near being over.  
Aye, anyways, my next chapter (ten) will most likely be in Yuna's POV, and will be a small break from the adventure. Things need explaining. ^_^  
Anyhow, let's get rolling.  
~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
Chapter Nine: The Call To Fight  
  
I fell back onto my rear end as the ship lurched violently. A primal scream rang out, causing more chaos than was already underway. Ruka covered her ears and crawled over to her mother's side, trembling. Sanya closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.   
  
"This isn't happening!"   
  
But a sudden burst of wood, showing a gigantic, scaly, clawed hand indicated that it was indeed happening, and that the Crusaders were having a bit of trouble. I peered through the hole, trying to get a glimpse of the creature, and saw a tremendous monster, almost bigger than the deck itself, which was large enough to house quite a few of Besaid's huts. It's teeth were yellowed and spread out in all sorts of crazy directions, when it closed it's mouth quite a few of them stuck out from under its black lips. A dark green tongue, dripping with saliva, lolled out of the beast, giving it an insane look. Its nose was shaped like half of an arrow, and it's tiny yellow eyes blinked furiously out of its ugly face. It hissed and lunged at an unseen person, forgetting that its hand was still stuck in the hole, and for a second its charcoal-colored underbelly showed for an instant before the monster slammed back into the ground, causing the floor to begin to crack. It leapt to its feet and pulled its wrist free from what held it, causing a lot of the boards to fall to the ground, or at least start to, because a call of "Fira!" stopped them from reaching the ground whole.   
  
"It's not safe here anymore!" one of the villagers shouted, pointing towards the bending wood of the ceiling.   
  
"Down below! Go!" Kimahri shouted. He was on his feet, spear in hand, bandages and wounds forgotten. Wakka and Lulu had also stood, Lulu possessing one of the magical dolls, and Wakka equipped with a blitzball, which was covered in spikes.   
  
"Kimahri! Stay here!" Yuna ordered, rod in hand. Kimahri glared at her, as if to ask why, and she said, "We can't leave them by themselves. If any smaller fiends get down here, you handle them. You're still hurt, please remember that!" The Ronso warrior grunted and motioned for us to follow him.   
  
Rikku stood from where her daughter was hugging her tightly. "Mamma!" Ruka protested, small tears in her eyes, mingling with the salty rainwater that was pouring through the open hole. Rikku fitted a pair of clawed gloves to her hands and walked away.   
  
"I'm sorry, Ruka, but I have to go," Rikku said, ignoring the scared protests of her frightened daughter. "Go with Kimahri! We'll be fine!"   
  
Ruka stood shakily and nodded, tears flowing freely down her face, and she ran past me. I stood there, dumbstruck. Kimahri grabbed my hand and pulled me along as he ran. When we stopped he looked at me and said quietly, "Destiny save Kimahri, Kimahri will save Destiny. Kimahri protect." I smiled and uttered a small thank you. He nodded, and pushed me gently behind a large door. He then closed it and began his guard over us.   
  
I walked over to where Ruka and Sanya were sitting; both of them were in a corner, looking almost desperate for comfort. I didn't know what to say, so I just sat beside them and pulled my legs up to my chest.   
  
I could hear the commotion up above, and after awhile I began to feel something. It was tiny at first, but with each sound of a thud or a crack it began to grow. It took time to recognize it, but I knew what it was in time. Guilt. I felt guilty that there was nothing that I could do. I felt guilty that I wasn't fighting beside them or standing guard with Kimahri. I felt helpless as well. I was just a pitiful little girl, sitting there safe and sound as others fought for my safety. It wasn't right. I gritted my teeth and felt a hot surge of anger. It wasn't right!   
  
The villagers, who'd been talking in hushed whispers, quieted suddenly. An intense silence filled the ship, causing a sense of apprehension.   
  
"Is it over?" one daring young man asked.  
  
"Quiet!" the elderly woman who was sitting beside him snapped.   
  
A sudden crack was heard, and a scared mother, clutching her baby to her stomach uttered what all were thinking, "The boards! The boards! They're falling in!" A crash and a thunderous roar from Kimahri set the people into panic once again.   
  
"What will we do?"  
  
"We're doomed!"  
  
"The ship will sink!"   
  
Ruka and Sanya looked frightened to death. No tears would come, they couldn't cry because it had been shocked out of them. I let my legs fall from my arms and closed my eyes. The dragon from Besaid flew through my mind, swinging his sword in one of his powerful hands.  
  
'Dragon, if you're there, please come now!'   
  
No answer. I hadn't expected one, but it had been a desperate thought.   
  
'I'm useless..'   
  
I stood on my feet and took a deep breath.   
  
'I can't even help the people that've taken me in and done so much for me.'  
  
I looked down at my soaked tunic, one of Sanya's old ones, and my torn blue jeans. I wanted to cry.   
  
'Crying! I'm not the one suffering!'   
  
I clenched my fists as the first tear came and trailed down my cheek. I forgot to reach up an wipe it off, and it eventually reached my lips, sending a small salty taste into my mouth and onto my tongue.   
  
'I can't feel sorry for myself! I have to help, somehow!'   
  
A strong, clear voice echoed through my head, sounding young and old at the same time, both deep and with the feel of someone my age.   
  
'That's more like it, my friend,' it uttered in my mind. 'I am here to protect you and those close to you. Accept that I am real, and I will do it without needing your call, but deny me and I cannot help you!'   
  
I dropped to my knees, surprise flowing through every vein in my body. The world was darkening, and I was feeling something strange, like part of me was separating itself from the other half. I held onto my consciousness and pulled myself to my feet, which had begun to glow with a warm light. The light began to spread to all parts of my body, and I felt like that other half was pulling, trying to escape. I didn't notice the people staring at me, or Sanya and Ruka, who were awestruck.   
  
The pulling sensation intensified, and I saw something else forming, something large, causing the people to back against the wall, terrified of this ghostly apparition, which was slowly taking the form of a dragon with gentle blue eyes and golden skin, with a sword across his back and crouching on all fours. My consciousness began to waver as the dragon slammed its way into the next room. A single roar was the last thing I heard before my mind gave up trying to stay active, and I fell to the floor slowly, hearing nothing but the soft thud my body made against the wood.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The abominable creature had its back to me. The ignorant beast ignored the crash I made as I slammed through the wall and kept its attention on the small figure trapped in its scaly grip. It licked its lips hungrily and bent down to feast on her. The rest of the people, those who were still holding on, tried to free her, but the monster's grip was stronger than anything they could throw at him, and his hide was like steel. It resisted all spells, which a weakened Lulu desperately cast, everything from 'Flare' to 'Ultima'.   
  
A shaking Yuna turned and locked eyes with me. Her staff was broken, and she was bleeding from a gash in her side. I roared in rage at seeing them like this.   
  
Before the dumb beast could turn around, I had reached my glittering sword above my head and impaled it, watching as it dropped Rikku and looked down at its middle, before breaking slowly into a flood of pyreflies and disappearing with a slow, gurgling groan. I pulled back my sword and stared through the hole that had been made and out into black sky, where rain was still falling on the wounds of many Crusaders.   
  
I am Guardian, the soul aeon of Destiny. She and I are one, and she and I will not stand for sitting out of a battle that we could fight.   
  
She has the soul of a warrior!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
^_^ So, how was the second appearance of the first Soul Aeon, Guardian?   
Ya likes?   
I hope, but I'm out for now! R/R please, ya?   
^_^ I'll have more time to get these up now. No more science fair! YAY!   
(I'm very dedicated to my writing. ^_~ Author in training, ya know? That's my dream, anyways.) 


	10. Quiet Reminiscing

As said before, this chapter will be in Yuna's POV. Please, before you read this, go to http://thegia.com and read the FFX: International extra ending before reading this chapter. ^_^; It might help a bit.  
  
  
  
Chapter Ten: Quiet Reminiscing (Yuna)  
  
I overheard the captain of the ship talking with an angry Ryuu. We weren't going straight to Zanarkand as the temperamental Crusader had planned. We were to stop at Luca and switch ships, or maybe hire a few airships to take us. Travel in the sky would be much faster than travel in the restless sea.  
  
I had been made to lie down and rest after sending the dead that had been killed by the fiend. There were a total of ten casualties, and had it not been for Destiny's aeon, there would've been more. It had stayed only a second after killing the beast and then had disappeared in a flash of dazzling light and sparkles.  
  
I puzzled over Destiny's strange abilities. She could summon, but it seemed as though she wasn't aware that she had the power to control it. It seemed to drain energy from her like gaining a new aeon had for me so many years ago. A few of the villagers said that she had stayed conscious until the dragon had been completely formed, and then she had fainted and her aeon had attacked.  
  
Most aeons needed a summoner with them, or they would be unsure of what to do, or what their purpose was, but the dragon had attacked the fiend without hesitation, and then returned in spirit to its master, like it had been linked to her the whole time, and now Destiny slept peacefully on a little cot a ways away from me, her light blonde hair strewn everywhere and her mouth slightly open. She didn't look like a normal summoner; she looked like a lost little girl, scared and confused, and totally alone.  
  
She was hungry for knowledge. She didn't like feeling empty and lost in the world, and she wanted to know everything. I suppose that's why I decided to tell her the story of my pilgrimage, from the moment I'd met Tidus to the moment he'd disappeared from my life forever. I hadn't cried, but I was glad that Destiny didn't have many questions, because I felt as though my mouth had dried, and that if I spoke the words would refuse to come.  
  
I hadn't told her about our little journey into the halfway-rebuilt Zanarkand two years afterwards, either. It was depressing to think of how my hopes had soared when Rikku had shown me that sphere of Tidus in the cage. I should have known not to think that he would actually be there, but I had, and only to learn that the sphere had been older than we'd thought.  
  
~*Eighteen Years Ago, in a lost section of Zanarkand, looking for an answer *~  
  
I wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't been right before my eyes. Here was what seemed to be an entire underground facility, almost as large as the ruined city itself. Almost all of the old machina were intact, with the few exceptions where time had taken its toll and deteriorated the metallic instruments and various other man-made creations, or the few machina that were ripped apart, as if shredded by some gigantic fiend on a mad rampage. It was like a whole new world.  
  
Devices that I'd never before seen in my life were everywhere, some of them small, with many buttons and levers, and a few that were almost as large as the wall itself, with giant screens and many wires. I could hear Rikku beginning to tinker with one of them, and Wakka strode over to one, awestruck. This was what Zanarkand had once been like.  
  
We traveled further into the laboratory, into what seemed like a deserted chamber after being around so many machina. Doors were dotted on each side, some of them with labeled with faded letters and others whose labels had disappeared completely. A few large gashes covered the walls and the floor, and in one area it looked as if it had burst into flame. Warily, we checked in every door, only to find nothing but more machina and papers strewn in various places. I felt my hopes deteriorating with each new door. We probably weren't even in the right place.  
  
This had been where Kimahri had found the sphere showing Tidus trapped in a cage after he had fallen into the facility through the soft ground above the ceiling, which was wearing away. We had come here hoping beyond all hopes that somehow we would find something that indicated the he lived, but this place was older than Tidus himself, almost as old as the ancient metropolis, and just as ruined. I continued opening and closing doors, with Kimahri, Wakka, and Rikku shifting through piles of junk looking for something that would give us a clue.  
  
"Nothing," Rikku said sadly, throwing a scrap of metal to the ground and shrugging.  
  
"Kimahri not find anything," Kimahri said, "but we keep searching other rooms."  
  
Rikku regained her normal cheerful composition. "Righto!"  
  
~* The first clue, cages *~  
  
We had come to the last door of the hall, which was labeled 'Holding Room'.  
  
"Holding Room? I wonder what that means," Rikku said curiously, opening the door slightly and peeking in furtively. "Wow! Look at all of them!"  
  
Giant cages lined each side of a musty, narrow corridor, which extended into the next room and the room beyond that. A few tables that had been knocked over were strewn here and there, and you had to look where you were walking, for the pointy instruments that had once rested on them had fallen everywhere. There were signs that this place hadn't ended by natural cause. It looked as if it had been attacked. That explained the large gashes that had covered the floor and walls of the hallway with the many doors.  
  
"Kimahri no like smell," my Ronso guardian said, wrinkling his nose and looking at the skull of one of the dead creatures. It was horrifying, holes filled the skull and a horn protruded from the middle, as if it had been a Ronso, but it had a canine look about it, with a long slender snout and claws longer than my entire upper section. It looked as if it had been painfully packed into the cell, and one of its finger bones protruded from the opening between the bars, as if it had been looking for a way out.  
  
"What were they all doing here?" Rikku asked, gripping the rusty bars and peering at what looked like a drake skeleton. (Drakes are dragons that aren't much bigger than a domestic dog. They're rare, it was extremely surprising to see one, even the skeleton of one, confined.)  
  
Wakka grimaced as he tripped over a fallen piece of metal. "Whatever it was, those people had to be nuts to keep all these things in one place, ya?"  
  
"Agreed!" Rikku said, pulling away from the cage and helping Wakka up.  
  
"What kind of clue do you think we could find in here?" I asked and was a second later coughing uncontrollably. The dust that had gathered in this ancient place had settled on all parts of my body and had made its way into my lungs.  
  
"Ya never know," Wakka said, walking into the next room with Rikku skipping after him.  
  
1  
  
The next room wasn't much different than the first, aside from a burst open cage in the middle, with the door of it lying in the middle of the room, twisted and mangled as if something had wrenched it open with extreme force.  
  
"Looks like somethin' escaped from that one, ya?" Wakka said, trotting over to it and looking inside. I followed. Sure enough, the cell was completely devoid of a skeleton or some reminder that one of the fiends had ever dwelled within it. "Musta been pretty strong," Wakka commented.  
  
Rikku had wandered away from the opened cage and into the next room, where a huge shelf of video spheres leaned against the far wall. They too were labeled, things like 'Year 01, Project: Carnage'.  
  
"Hey! Maybe these will help!" Rikku called to us, waving one in the air.  
  
"Whatcha got there?" Wakka asked, snatching it quickly and peering at the lettering. "Year 15, Final Project: Guardian, Part: Seventeen.. wonder what that means, eh?" Rikku sighed and grabbed it back.  
  
"We won't know unless you PLAY IT!" she said, touching the surface and waiting for it to start up. "Huh?  
  
The sphere began to vibrate in her hands. She squealed and dropped it quickly. "It's a trap! A bomb!" The sphere had begun to glow a bright orange, and was making strange noises. Everyone took a step away from it.  
  
"Strange sphere," Kimahri commented impassively. He nudged it with his Spirit Lance and it began to glow brighter.  
  
"Kimahri! Don't touch it!" Rikku berated, punching him lightly in his arm. He glared at her and nudged it again. She stuck out her tongue. "Fine! If you want it to blow up, then go right ahead!"  
  
Kimahri sighed and walked away from the sphere, which had begun to shoot shaky images into the air.  
  
"I don't think it's a bomb," Wakka said, smirking slightly at the fuming Al Bhed girl.  
  
"Well, I was just trying to be safe!" she said, crossing her arms. "Let's just watch it, okay?"  
  
~* The second clue, a sphere *~  
  
The shaky image of a man appeared in the air. He was donning a messy white coat and a large pair of glasses that covered his tired gray eyes. He reached a hand up to push his glasses up his nose and an exasperated sigh escaped him, barely audible through the crackling that the old sphere was making. The man ran his hand through his brown hair and began to speak.  
  
"This is the final recording. What we deemed to be the perfect specimen, entitled Guardian, has escaped his cage and was killed by the monks of Bevelle as he fled. It took an hour and a half for this entire project to fail horribly. We are giving up, there is no hope other than the sacrificing of summoners for our world. We saw the pyreflies of Guardian returning here. We knew it would be so. We made a mistake in keeping him so human, it was only natural that his unsent, semi-conscious being would return to the place of its birth. It wasn't right, I suppose, but it was done. We tried to create our own live aeon."  
  
I felt my throat go into a knot. Creating an aeon? To do that you needed a fayth. To obtain a fayth, you needed a human soul.  
  
"The rest of the projects, our failures, will be left here to perish. We have no need for them; it would be better if it were as though they'd never existed."  
  
The foggy image sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose once more.  
  
"We fear, more than anything now, excommunication, as is the punishment for such a 'dishonorable' experiment, but we did it because of our friend, Jubaya the summoner, who couldn't bring himself to sacrifice his dearest friend along with himself, as the Lady Yunalesca tried to make him do so. He brought back the tale of their meeting, and appalled, we began to create the aeon to end them all, which resulted in our best try yet, Guardian."  
  
The picture flashed briefly to a wild looking dragon, who slammed his head violently against the bars of his cage and whispered in a ragged voice, "Freedom, out!"  
  
The man reappeared and said with a sigh, "That was an earlier recording of our Final Aeon. He was very hostile in his youth, but as time wore on he mellowed, or at least we thought he had, but he pulled the wool over our eyes and managed his great escape, which ended off in his death, and what will be our downfall, we expect."  
  
"So now you've heard what became of us, and how we reached our demise. We hope that you won't make the same mistakes as we have, but we beg of you, if this is ever seen, please stop the pilgrimages. My daughter aspires to be a Summoner, and I cannot watch her go off and die. Please stop all of this nonsense!"  
  
The man's image shimmered and faded, leaving me, the Summoner who had ended them all, with a feeling of apprehension and depression.  
  
Where did Tidus come into all of this?  
  
~ End Reminisce ~  
  
I hope I did okay on this chapter. It was hard to write in Yuna's POV, and ever harder to get down all of the facts and points I wanted to.  
  
Anyways, the story's gonna start twisting and turning pretty soon, so be prepared. ^_~ 


	11. Luca, The Blitzball Capital of Spira

This one isn't as eventful as the last two, but the view is back to Destiny.  
  
Chapter Eleven: Luca, the Blitzball Capital of Spira (Destiny)  
  
The sun had begun to rise in the eastern sky, penetrating the dreary darkness and driving away the forbidding storm clouds. I stood sleepily on the deck, leaning against the cabin's wall and listening to the hustle and bustle surrounding me. We were docking in Luca, the second largest city in Spira.  
  
The villagers' fear and sadness evaporated as the sky continued lightening into a nice robin's egg blue and fluffy cumulus clouds began to peek into view. Seagulls wheeled above, some landing on the ship and looking for any signs of scraps left behind from the crew and passengers. They filled the once frightening air with their sharp cries. I smiled at them and for the first time began to notice the condition of the once grand Draconis. People skirted the sides of a large hole in the weakening floor, and the lower levels had been cut off completely, due to the amount of debris and filth, so all surviving people spent the trip to Luca's harbor staring over the rim of the ship and chatting between one another, excluding those who were mourning their dead. Ten Crusaders had died in the carnage of the attack. Thankfully, Oryon, whom I'd grown quite close to, hadn't been one of them.  
  
He walked up behind me and sighed softly. "Ryuu's not happy that we're stopping. He's behaving strangely, even for himself."  
  
I jumped slightly. I should've been used to Oryon sneaking up on me and speaking as though he'd been there the whole time, but I wasn't. "D'you always hafta do that?" I asked, turning around and glaring at him, not really mad. He chuckled.  
  
"I could call your name fifteen times and you wouldn't respond, the way you are," he muttered quietly and ducked as I swung a playful punch at him. He grabbed my arm as I threw another one at him, and pushed it gently against my side. "We're docking soon. I suggest you get ready."  
  
I squinted as sunlight entered my eyes and asked, "How long are we gonna be in Luca?"  
  
"Don't know," he said "probably only until Ryuu can get us a new ship."  
  
"I hope he takes a while, I'd like to stay in Luca for a bit and I'd love to see a blitzball game," I said, a strange, ecstatic feeling beginning to bubble up within me. It was the same feeling I'd had while doing the Sphere Shot. I felt powerful, in a sense, and raring to go. Energy was begging to be released into the world, and I was just as ready to release it.  
  
Oryon smiled. "You'll get your chance, don't worry. Luca is never short of Blitzball games this time of the year."  
  
I cheered and grinned. "Well, let's hurry up then. I'm tired of this ship. It was nice for the first few days, but now it's just boring."  
  
I looked over at a few children, innocent and already forgetting the danger they'd been in two days before, leaned over a rail and pointed at a pod of frolicking dolphins. The water mammals spouted water in fountains and cackled in their strange language; they leapt above the water cheerily and sprayed the children in the face, causing a few giggles and cheers from them. It was a refreshing sight, and I wished that all of the people on the Draconis could wipe the desolate looks off of their faces and laugh like the children could.  
  
"Fear erases itself from a child's mind quickly," Oryon commented, once again seeming to read my mind. His gaze had followed mine, and he now had his chocolate eyes resting on the two. I nodded, and he continued, "The world would have no troubles, if all could think like they do." And he walked away. Oryon always gave me the feeling that he knew so much more than the average person, even one older than himself. It depressed me a little, because he always seemed so tense. I wondered if it had been from the years he'd spent as a Crusader. Maybe that changed people, but I had never been in a true battle, not with my own flesh at least. In the only instances I could remember I'd had the dragon there to fight for me. Once again, the feeling of uselessness and guilt dug its claws into my shoulder, and I sighed before running off to find Sanya and Ruka.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ruka grinned at me joyfully as I approached. "We get to stop in Luca! I can't believe it, Luca's the best this time of year!" Sanya nodded and twirled a blitzball on her finger expertly.  
  
"And here I was thinking that I'd miss the next few games, ya? At least one good thing came out of that attack," she said jovially. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. She chuckled. "Don't look at me like that! You'll be sorry later! Ruka's right, Luca's da best!"  
  
"What're we gonna do when we get there?" I asked, and was almost immediately sorry that I had. I could only catch a few words from the outburst that followed.  
  
"… blitzball and… all the cute guys!!"  
  
"… on the beach… swimming… blitzball!!"  
  
I giggled and waved my hands to stop them. "Okay, I think I get the point!"  
  
They stopped and both laughed. "Sorry 'bout that!" Ruka commented.  
  
"It's okay, but I'd like to be able to understand what I'm hearing," I said chuckling and placing my hands on my hips. Sanya put her arm over my shoulders.  
  
"Hey, ya know what? You should try out for blitzball, ya? That Sphere Shot back on Besaid was amazing!" she joked, putting the ball in my hands. "Let's see it again, okay?"  
  
I was surprised. "I.. I.. Uhm..." I wasn't even sure how I'd done it. I wasn't sure of anything. It had been like a different person had been controlling me. I thought for a moment that it might have been the Dragon, but dismissed the idea. He seemed very solitary. I'd tried to speak to him again, but he'd refused to reply, either that or he couldn't.  
  
"Oh c'mon!" Sanya teased with a wink. I blushed.  
  
"I can't."  
  
Ruka imitated my hand-on-the-hip position. "You only can't if you say you can't! At least try!"  
  
I looked down at the ball in my hands, and sighed. "Maybe when we get off of this ship." I emphasized the maybe. I felt so unsure of myself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
White foam surrounded the injured ship as it slid into an open dock in Luca's harbor. Seagulls continued wheeling overhead, their harsh voices mixed with the cries of the crew as they anchored the ship in and began to lower the ramp. The villagers chatted excitedly between themselves, planning out their small, restful vacation in Luca, the blitzball capital of Spira.  
  
Oryon muttered softly to me, "You'll like it here. We all just need to relax, and this is a good place to do so."  
  
I nodded and followed the small mass of people down the ramp. A tiny crowd of spectators gathered and gawked at the Draconis, whispering apprehensively between themselves, wondering what had happened aboard the ship. A few Crusaders jostled them away, making room for all of the passengers to exit the ship. I heard the normal squeals of hopeless teenagers as Ryuu exited the ship, his short hair flowing behind him and a smug smile upon his arrogant face. I seethed. It only took a small glance at the man for anger to bubble up within me. 'He probably didn't even fight that fiend!' I thought as he walked past. His yellow eyes caught mine again, and he smiled his best try at a seductive smile. It didn't work on me, but a few girls were reduced the squeaking idiots as he did. I couldn't see what they did in this man.  
  
I ran to catch up with Oryon, and shot a glare at Ryuu, making sure that he knew my feelings, making sure that he knew that I trusted and admired my russet-eyed friend much more than him. He sneered and walked away in a huff.  
  
We left the crowd quickly, Oryon, Sanya, Ruka, and I. We hadn't the slightest clue where the adults had gotten themselves to, but the others didn't seem to care, and Oryon didn't seem to want to hang around with the other Crusaders and their captain if he didn't have to, so we began to venture into the city.  
  
Sanya, Ruka, and I talked happily amongst ourselves and Oryon kept quiet, adding a small grunt or a laugh in every once in a while. We were just leaving the docking area when I began to feel the hairs on the back of my neck prickle, and I got the strange feeling that someone was watching us. I turned my head slightly and caught a small glimpse of fiery red hair, and then nothing. I stopped, puzzled.  
  
"What is it?" Oryon asked.  
  
I blinked twice, just to make sure that I was seeing okay. "It's.. nothing.."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~ 


	12. The Beginning of a Much Needed Vacation

Introducing: Taira and Kiro, the Ronso twins. Nathan makes his first physical appearance (finally) as well.  
  
Sorry for taking so long. ^_^;  
  
Thank you for the reviews! You're all great! I'm on a favorites list! I can't believe it. ^_^  
  
  
  
Chapter Twelve: The Beginning of a Much Needed Vacation  
  
As we left the docking area I got my first sight of the blitzball stadium. It seemed to be that a game was just about to begin. People were lined up outside of the huge arena, all of them talking excitedly. I felt the strange, energetic feeling once more, and I wondered when I would be able to see my first blitzball match.  
  
Sanya walked up to one of the people waiting in line and inquired on the two teams who were playing.  
  
The woman smiled and replied, "Today it's the Luca Goers and the Ronso Fangs." The woman held a poster of a young man in her hands and she giggled childishly.  
  
Sanya returned to us. "The Luca Goers.. yuck, I hate those little pansies. Ronso Fangs all the way, ya!"  
  
Ruka cheered happily. "Yeah! Go Ronso!" She stopped cheering for a moment, and seemed to contemplate on something before saying, "Hey! We should go too!"  
  
Sanya looked confused for a moment, and then something seemed to dawn on her. "Yeah! We should!"  
  
I looked to Oryon, and he shrugged, obviously as confused as I was. "Why?" I asked curiously.  
  
Sanya grinned. "We want ya to meet Taira and Kiro. They're twin Ronso, and they're both brilliant blitzers. They're also the children of a certain Ronso ya already know." She winked and imitated Kimahri. "Kimahri devoted father. Kimahri teach children to kill fiends.. they not care.. they decide to play blitzball."  
  
I chuckled. I'd never really imagined the solemn ex-guardian as a father.  
  
"I wonder if there're any tickets left," Ruka said, standing on her tiptoes and trying to peer over at the stand set up in front of the gates.  
  
Oryon smirked. "Most likely not. Look at the crowd." Sanya smiled jovially.  
  
"No need to worry my friends! I'm a blitz player too, ya? I'll find a way to get us in," she said confidently, striding through the growing line in front of the arena as if she were a queen. Ruka giggled and Oryon shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Well? Are ya comin' or what, eh?"  
  
"We're coming, don't worry," Ruka said, running forward. I looked to Oryon.  
  
He smiled sarcastically. "After you, m'lady."  
  
I made a small sound of mock indignity and followed Sanya's example. Oryon followed, striving to hold in his laughter.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sanya returned from the ticket booth with four tickets in her hands, smiling proudly. "The seats aren't all that great, but at least we get to go, ya?" She turned to me. "You'll like this, trust me." She handed me a ticket and skipped through the gate.  
  
Ruka stared at the ticket and frowned. "She wasn't kidding when she said that these weren't very good seats. Section 4, Row 25.. we'll hardly be able to see them!"  
  
Oryon observed his own ticket. "Just be glad that we got in. I heard Sanya talking to the salesman at the booth. They only have about fifty left."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Ruka said, a bit sadly. "But, I guess we'll be able to see better at one of Sanya's games. She always gets us front row seats. It's awesome!" She cheered up instantly and bounced after her best friend.  
  
Oryon sighed. "An entire blitzball game with three goofy girls. Somebody kill me before I subject myself to the horror."  
  
I stuck my tongue out at him. "Oh come on! You can sit by me. I promise I won't be too goofy."  
  
He lifted his eyes to the sky. "After seeing that shot you did in Besaid, you're either a blitzer or a fanatic wannabe, so I'm guessing you'll be just like the rest of them."  
  
"You mean you don't cheer or anything?" I said, folding my arms across my chest.  
  
He smiled lightly. "Not for the Fangs or the Goers. My favorite team is the Beasts, though since I'm now Sanya's 'friend', I'll cheer for the Aurochs too."  
  
"That's better!" I said. I took his arm and led him through the crowd. "C'mon! I don't wanna miss anything!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The blitzball game made me feel incredibly excited and at home. I felt like I belonged in that stadium. The sounds of a crowd cheering crazily were slightly familiar to me, and at times of little action I would disappear into my mind, watching the lights that rushed through my brain and remembering the feeling of cold water against my skin as the other team swam around me. The Sphere Shot had provoked these thoughts in me before, and they had compiled themselves into a dream, but I hadn't paid much notice to it until then.  
  
The Fangs scored for the third time that game and the announcer blared out, "Taira Ronso pulls off a Wither Shot on the goalie and scores once more for her team! The Fangs are really hot tonight, folks!"  
  
The score was three to zero, with the Fangs, of course, in the lead. Sanya cheered wildly, and provoked a lady sitting near her into a fight as she shouted, "GO FANGS! MURDER THOSE LITTLE PANSIES!" The woman and Sanya fought loudly for a few moments until the Goers scored their first goal.  
  
"The Goers' first goal of the game, short by Bickson!" the announcer exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah! Take that," the Goers fan said to Sanya, sitting back down in her chair and folding her arms in a dignified way.  
  
Sanya snorted. "Whatever. The Fangs're still winning, ya? One shot don't make a difference."  
  
The woman seemed about to retort, but the buzzer blew for half time, and she just walked off with a small "hmph!"  
  
Sanya watched the lady go, narrowed her dark eyes, and pursed her lips. "That woman had such an attitude! We're all entitled to our own opinions, ya? Oooh…"  
  
Ruka interrupted her. "Let's go and get some snacks or something, okay? I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."  
  
Oryon stood up and stretched as if he'd just woken up. "I'm for that idea."  
  
Sanya pulled a purse out and counted her gil. "Lemme see.. I have enough left for all of us to get somethin'."  
  
Ruka protested. "You don't have to pay. I've got money too."  
  
"Likewise," Oryon said.  
  
Sanya held up a hand. "Don't worry! My treat, ya? Pops will give me some more gil when we get back to the rest of the group."  
  
"Okay," Ruka said reluctantly.  
  
I didn't want to take Sanya's money either, but I didn't have a coin on me. If I'd ever had any, it had washed away into the sea before Wakka had found me and brought me in to the shore. I bit my tongue. I'd need some money sooner or later, but I wasn't quite sure where to get it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
We walked into the cheery-looking café, hoping that we could eat before the game started up again. We sat around a small table and observed the menus.  
  
"Hmm.. I want a cheeseburger. Something nice and quick, you know?" Ruka said, running her spiraled eyes up and down the menu.  
  
"Sounds good," Oryon remarked.  
  
The menu seemed completely new to me, aside from the few things I remembered clearly or already knew from my stay with Wakka and the trip on the Draconis. I was about to ask Sanya what, exactly, a shoopuf steak was, but before I could get the words out of my mouth a voice rang out loudly, "Yo, Sanya!"  
  
A boy, with dark brown hair and nice green eyes approached the table. He was wearing a fancy looking outfit, as if he were in Luca on important business. He banged his hand down on the table and winked at her. "How ya been?"  
  
She blushed. "Nathan! It's you!"  
  
He grinned cheerfully. "Yup! Ya miss me?"  
  
She smiled happily and gave him a big hug. "You bet!"  
  
Oryon snorted, but kept his face hidden behind the menu as Sanya shot him a dirty look.  
  
"So, Whatcha been up to, eh?" Nathan asked, giving her a small kiss in her dark hair.  
  
Her face grew a shade redder than it had been. "Not much. The usual. You know, ya?"  
  
He frowned. "I was hoping that I'd see you in a blitz game, but you haven't been in any of them. What's up?"  
  
"Didn't ya hear? Besaid was attacked!" she said.  
  
He looked a bit surprised. "Eh, I don't pay attention to the news much. I'm sorry to hear that, Sanya."  
  
She smiled and her face grew into that of a lover in a very romantic situation. "It's okay. Not many people got hurt, ya? We were planning to move anyway."  
  
Ruka and Oryon both had their faces concealed behind their menus, but I could see them both suppressing hysterical laughter as they listened to the couple talk. I didn't really understand what was so funny, so I just kept quiet and tried to find something to eat.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~ 


	13. Twins

Chapter Thirteen: Twins  
  
We returned to the blitzball game after eating and promising to meet up with Nathan down by the docks after the game.  
  
The game went on for its last to periods and ended in an excitingly close battle between the Fangs and the Goers, in which the Fangs made their last shot in a period of five seconds. The final score was 5-6, with the Fangs as the victors.  
  
Sanya jumped out of her seat and did a small victory dance. "Yeah! That shows those pansies what a real team is, ya?"  
  
"Let's go down to the locker rooms and wait for Taira and Kiro," Ruka said.  
  
"Righto!" Sanya said, brushing past a very angry looking woman, the same who'd fought with her before. The woman stomped off in the other direction, cursing at the Fangs under her breath.  
  
Ruka bounded off after Sanya, and I followed cheerily. The blitzball game had been wonderful. I'd found myself blocking out everything else but the game while I'd been watching it. Sanya's shouts were unheard by my ears, which had been both focused on listening to the commentary, and I saw nothing but that sphere, with its various players swimming around inside, scoring goals, and waving to the fans every so often.  
  
I'd found myself commenting on the game inside of my own mind. Taira, I'd found, was the best scorer on her team. She and Kiro played as if they were one brain being shared in two bodies. Each one's movements seemed to match the other's precisely, and they seemed to read each other's minds. They'd shoot a small glance and they would both know exactly what to do. They had complicated plays put together to get the ball in the goal, and most of the time they worked. I was amazed, and incredibly eager to talk to them.  
  
We relived the entire game, almost play by play, as we walked down to the locker rooms. Sanya ensured us that when we got there that she'd get us in. She was an Auroch, after all.  
  
Sanya argued with the guards in front of the entrance for a while before they let us go down. "What was that all about?" Oryon asked.  
  
Sanya shook her head. "Stubborn guards. It's in their 'rules and regulations' that I have some proof of who I really am. Really! They act like they haven't seen me playin' for the last two years, ya?" She sighed and beckoned us forward. "Well, let's go!"  
  
Loud, raucous laughter emanated from the Fangs' room and I caught a snatch of some of the things being said inside.  
  
"He squeal like pig when you ram him Kiro!" a deep, feminine voice roared.  
  
"Ya! Squeal like pig!" a masculine voice called out before the owner broke into fits of laughter.  
  
Sanya chuckled. "Didya here those two? That'd be Taira and Kiro." She knocked on the door, lightly at first, then louder when it wasn't heard over the Fangs' loud voices.  
  
"Who is it?" the same female voice called out.  
  
"It's Sanya!"  
  
"Sanya? We be there in a second! Hold!"  
  
The door opened slowly to reveal a tall, skinny Ronso, donned in her uniform and with a big smile upon her feline face. White hair framed hung down below her shoulders and trailed down her back, braided in a strange fashion, but which looked perfect on her. She had beautiful golden eyes that shone with an innocent kind of mischief, almost like a child. "Hi! You come in! We tell you about piggy Goer," Taira said, taking Sanya's hand and leading her inside. "Bring friends, we celebrating!"  
  
The Ronso gave us all a hearty welcome and invited us to celebrate with them as they continued their humorous intake on the game.  
  
Taira looked closely at me. "Who you? Never seen you before. Where you from?" she inquired curiously, moving her face close to mine and looking me in the eyes.  
  
"My name's Destiny," I said awkwardly. I could only answer the first question.  
  
Ruka took over for me. "She has amnesia, Taira. She doesn't really know where she came from."  
  
"Oh, sorry," the female Ronso said, moving her visage away from mine slowly. She turned to Sanya. "You going to play ball? Taira thought you weren't going to play this season."  
  
"Wasn't planning on it," Sanya remarked, "but we got sidetracked, so I might as well, ya?"  
  
"Ya!" a male Ronso remarked, sitting down next to Oryon. He was incredibly small and skinny for a male. He was almost identical to his sister. He had short white hair and the same mischievous golden eyes. He smiled and held out his clawed hand to me and then to Oryon. "I Kiro, nice to meetcha!"  
  
I liked the twins instantly. They seemed very different from their quiet father. They were talkative and jovial. They joked and giggled madly, and soon had us doing the same. Oryon even joined in the laughing, though not as crazily or loudly as most of us were.  
  
"You see when that guy miss goal? He such bad shot! Me think he need go back to school!" Taira said, chuckling and slapping her knee. She found humor in everything. You had to laugh at everything she said, because the way she said it was funny, and Kiro would add in his little comments after everything.  
  
We stayed with the Fangs for about an hour, listening to their small anecdotes, laughing, and chatting with the Ronso before excusing ourselves.  
  
"We promised to meet Nathan at the docks!" Sanya hissed at us.  
  
"Aww. Sanya misses her boyfriend," Oryon snickered. Sanya blushed, and everyone chuckled.  
  
Taira waved as we began to file out of the locker room. "Bye! We see you later! We go visit Father after 'while! See you then!"  
  
"Ya! See you later!" Kiro echoed, waving from his seat on the benches.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Which dock were we supposed to meet him at?" Ruka asked. The worn Draconis sat in the dock before us. Carpenters and sailors crowded around it, shouting orders to each other as they tried to heal the once beautiful ship, with its slender draconic head torn from it, the graceful wings battered and worn, and its painted claws faded. It now seemed ghastly, the very image of a once sunken pirate ship now resurrected to haunt the world. The sail had been taken down and hauled to one corner of the dock, where it sat torn to pieces.  
  
"Not here," Sanya said.  
  
"I could see that," Ruka retorted.  
  
"Why don't we just check them all?" I suggested, trying to be helpful.  
  
Sanya frowned. "We'll probably hafta do that anyways." She grinned. "Oh well! Let's begin the search for Nathan!"  
  
She bounded off cheerfully, anticipating seeing her boyfriend again.  
  
"Well, let's go," Ruka said, shrugging and running to catch up with her eccentric best friend.  
  
I grinned at Oryon. "C'mon, run with me!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~ 


	14. The Crimson Lady

Chapter Fourteen: The Crimson Lady  
  
Sanya rushed forward to embrace her love, but instead stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of another woman, who was way too near to her boyfriend for her tastes. Instead she sauntered up to him casually and gripped his hand firmly in hers, and then shot a look at the red haired woman that said plainly, 'he's mine, don't you DARE touch him!'  
  
The woman laughed harshly and said in a voice dripping and seeping with contempt, "Don't worry, girlie, I'm not here to take you're man."  
  
Sanya narrowed her eyes at the red haired woman and locked both of her arms around Nathan's larger one and set her body into a protective stance. The woman laughed again with one hand up to her lips. Her eyes fell on Sanya, and Sanya made a small sound of fright, and when the woman turned to stare into the eyes of each of us, I saw why. Her eyes were blood red and incredibly frightening. She seemed to revolve around the colors red, yellow, and orange. She wore a shortened, dandelion colored tank top and shorts that looked as if they'd been cut from a pair of jeans. Around her neck was a long, bead necklace with a phoenix charm at the end and around her arms were set golden clasps, each bearing an orange jewel. Her smile was malicious, and as her eyes fell upon me it seemed to grow. I shivered. Her eyes gave you the feeling of foreboding.  
  
Nathan glared at the woman, and she backed down and folded her arms over her chest and leaned against a pile of boxes set up in the deck. "This is Sophia," he announced. "She's a good friend of the family." He then blushed and smiled at Sanya in what he most likely hoped a nonchalant way. "I promised her that I'd show her around Luca."  
  
Sanya's fingernail dug into the skin of his arm. "You promised HER? What about ME?" she hissed at him angrily.  
  
"Don't worry, girlie, you're all invited too. Wouldn't want to keep Nathan away from his girlfriend," Sophia said, smiling sweetly at Sanya. Sanya attempted the smile back, but it looked more like Kimahri bearing his teeth at an enemy than a friendly smile coming from one of the most optimistic people I knew.  
  
"Well, then, let's get going!" Ruka said quickly to ease the tension. She nudged Oryon and whispered through her teeth, "Help me!"  
  
Oryon looked up at Sophia with one of his soul-searching gazes before saying, "I'd rather like it if we went and did something as well."  
  
"Yeah! I haven't seen all that much of Luca either. C'mon!" I piped up. Sophia's flaming gaze fell upon me again and I met it firmly, hoping that my blue eyes could match the ferocity of her crimson ones. She smiled strangely at me and walked past me, keeping herself close to Nathan and infuriating Sanya, who still had her arms firmly around Nathan's.  
  
I tried to read what Sophia's gaze had told me, but it was like deciphering another language. The only thing I could understand was that the strange woman knew something about me but wasn't willing to release it. I sighed. I had the penetrating feeling that she, Oryon, and Ryuu all knew something more about me than I knew myself.  
  
But the question is, what?  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
We walked silently for a while, but Ruka soon started up a lively conversation with her best friend, which erupted into the rest of us chatting amiably, excluding Sophia, who seemed more interested in the sights of Luca or staring at the rest of us with her frightening gaze. She added in a slightly haughty comment every once in awhile, but usually kept to herself. Sanya would often glance furtively over at the red haired woman, but she seemed much more interested in her handsome boyfriend, who now held her around the waist as we stopped to observe the setting Lucan sun. She blushed and giggled stupidly whenever Nathan spoke to her, and Ruka seemed sort of lonely, so she resorted to flirting with Oryon, who took no notice and ignored her little antics. She sighed and leaned over near me. "He's such a loner. I wish he'd pay attention to something other than himself, you know?" she whispered quietly. I giggled.  
  
"But he wouldn't be Oryon if he was talkative, annoying, and arrogant like Ryuu or something like that! Seriously, I'd take Oryon over that guy any day," I whispered back.  
  
Ruka looked at me indignantly. "Ryuu's not talkative, annoying, and arrogant! He's hot, strong, and sexy."  
  
I pretended to wretch and said, "Oh stop, you're going to make me lose my lunch, oy!"  
  
Ruka pursed her lips and folded her arms. "You're just like Oryon, tasteless and oblivious to flirting. Ryuu's infatuated with you, and all you do is make fun of him! I'd die to have him love me!"  
  
"You'd probably have to die just to get him to look at you," Oryon said before letting out a hoarse laugh. "He's a narcissist. The only things he notices are girls worthy of approaching him and his own girly reflection in the mirror."  
  
Ruka looked hurt. "So. Ryuu's girly, and I'm not even worthy of approaching him, huh?" she asked, her lip quavering. She turned away. "You're just jealous that you could never accomplish half of what he has!"  
  
Oryon looked at her with his eyes narrowed. "Think what you want, but he'd not a bit as great as he makes himself to be. You can love him and adore him all you want, but remember what I've said today when he turns his back on you!"  
  
Ruka kept her back to him and I could see tears silently streaking down her face. Oryon's harsh words had hurt her.  
  
I frowned at the man and pulled him roughly off to the side. "What was that about? That was a little cruel if you ask me," I rebuked him.  
  
He shrugged. "The truth hurts."  
  
"You're very difficult to get through to at times, you know that?" I said, looking into his russet eyes with determination. "You should try to have a bit more tact!"  
  
He looked into my eyes, and then placed his hands on my shoulder and pushed me slightly away to where he could see me completely, then he laughed. "You remind me of something, no, someone, that I might have once known. I think there's a little more to you than you see at first glance, Destiny!" His laugh continued, and I pulled myself gently away.  
  
"Who do I remind you of?" I asked, confused.  
  
He smiled. "Someone I knew a long time ago. It's been so long that their name eludes me, but you're definitely like him. Definitely." He looked into the pinkish sky. "Ah, the chain of life, connected not by links but by people. When one person departs from the link and leaves behind something that has yet to be accomplished, another comes in and takes their place, almost as if the person had just left for a while and then had returned, changed. So is the cycle of Spira!"  
  
And Oryon left the group for a while. One part of my mind urged me to follow him and question him further, but the other part was wary and now contemplated on what he'd just told me.  
  
One person leaves and another takes their place, the death and life of new beings occurs every day.  
  
Whose chain had I taken? Whose burdens did I bear?  
  
Who am I? 


	15. Dreams of Treachery

Before I begin this chapter, I'd like to say thank you to all those who've added 'Memories of Water' to their favorites. I'll do my best to keep the story that way!

This Chapter: Lots of explaining, the plot thickens, and Destiny dreams.

(Note: I had to put this into webpage format for the italics and bold print to stand out. ^_^; I hope this works.)

Chapter Fifteen: Dreams of Treachery 

  ~*~*~*~

_  My eyes shifted from one side of the darkened docks to the other, watching as a small boy silently approached them. He was clad in a purple robe that flowed behind his as he walked and his tan face from view. He stopped, and turned, looking straight at me, and for a moment I thought that he'd seen me, but he wasn't looking at me. It was more like he was looking **through **me. I turned as heavier footfalls came and saw a familiar face. It was Ryuu, looking slightly disgruntled. A creature walked beside him, flowing like liquid. It would have been invisible had it not been for the electric blue stripes that ran the length of its slender body. Sapphire eyes stared calmly at the robed boy, and with a shock I realized that I'd seen that creature before. _

_  "Sorry to keep you waiting," the tiger said in a frighteningly serene voice, "I believe that we had business to discuss?"_

_  The robed boy nodded. "Yes, I have a.. a small job for you two." _

_  The tiger snorted. "Ironic it is, **you** asking **me** for help."_

_  The boy frowned and said, "It will benefit you as well." _

_  Ryuu looked around moodily. "May I ask what you two are going on about?" _

_  The tiger slammed one of his claws down into the man's foot, issuing a small yelp and a whimper from the man as a glimmer of red shone through his boot. "Keep your mouth shut. Bahamut and I will do the talking, you just keep your ears open and try to catch something, nitwit." _

_  I felt my eyes widen. Bahamut? But Bahamut was my friend, wasn't he? Why was he asking **them** for help? All of a sudden I was extremely interested in what the small group had to say. Perhaps Ryuu and his little pet tiger weren't as bad as they came off to be. _

_  Bahamut chuckled. "You do know that when you rebuke him for his faults, that you are actually accusing yourself of being a nitwit, don't you?" _

_  The tiger hissed impatiently. "Get on with it, Dragon, or I'll simply leave. With that great golden oaf hanging around I've started disliking your kind more and more." _

_  "I presume you mean Guardian, King of the Seas? He's the reason that I came here," Bahamut stated, turning towards the ocean, which was calm and placid under the twinkling stars. He appeared to be looking at it accusingly. "Though he's not the only one that I came to see you about." _

_  The tiger's ears pricked forward, and his tone became soft and malicious. "You wanted to see me about the Golden Dragon? What might your favor be?" _

_  Bahamut looked as though he might be ashamed of himself and hesitated, but he began to speak in his strong, clear voice only a second later, seeming to shake off any doubts. "I want to hire you as an assassin."_

_  Ryuu started. "You want us to slay an aeon? Well, now this is interesting. Aeons pitted against aeons. Getting jealous that Golden Dragon is stealing all of your glory with his little acts?" _

_  Bahamut sneered. "It is not his acts that are the problem, it is the fact that he exists! He is an unwelcome aeon, created through a false process and now trying to change Spira to his likings. Not only that, he is now defying everything that Spira has become by bringing his Human here, that girl, Destiny." _

_  The tiger frowned. "I thought that the girl's existence was all your doing. The Guardian brought her here?" _

_  "Precisely," Bahamut said._

_  "May I ask why?" the tiger purred curiously._

_  Bahamut looked up into the innocent stars. "He wishes to undo the past. He believes that he can fix this world, that he can make the people happier. He's an optimist who dwells on the past and looks too far into the future. He refuses to see that this world is dark, that Death will always exist, and he refuses to accept the fact that he doesn't belong here!" Bahamut's voice cracked slightly as he shouted the last portions._

_  Ryuu frowned. "I don't see why you're worried. No one can undo the past, not even a giant sea dragon." _

_  Bahamut smiled in an odd sort of way. "No, Guardian himself can't, but I sense the presence of another aeon that should've accepted their fate long ago, one that just might have the power to throw the Dragon, his Human, and whoever else decides to tag along back far enough for him to rewrite history according to how **he **thinks it should be. This aeon is totally prepared to assist the Guardian. It has no concern for Guardian himself, but it has an attachment to one of Destiny's other companions, an attachment so deep that it would do anything for them." _

_  Ryuu seemed to accept that answer, and turned around, his yellow eyes searching the darkness, making sure that their conversation was not being overheard. He was unable to see me, the spirit that had wandered in the night. The tiger frowned at Bahamut. "I have a small concern myself," he said, "I've been sensing something within that Oryon man, the fighter. Could he be who I think he is? Is he the one that will assist the Guardian in his proposed time-travel?"_

_  Bahamut smiled grimly. "He may be who you presume, but he isn't the time aeon. He's simply keeping an eye on things; I believe it was a job assigned to him by the Guardian. He has no idea, but he's very insightful, from what I've seen. He'd be able to figure out things easily enough with all of the right clues." _

_  The tiger nodded, and all of a sudden hissed angrily. "I want to kill them all now! Revenge is tickling my paws." His claws appeared and then disappeared in a flash as he swiped at the air with one of his massive paws in a furious rage. _

_  Ryuu frowned. "I don't anticipate killing the girl. She attracts me. She's powerful, strong-willed, and if I'm not mistaken, slightly aggressive. Those are strange traits in a female, but she's a lot more interesting than most of the foolish women who hang about me." _

_  Bahamut grunted and dismissed his statement. "She takes all of her traits from the Guardian, ignore her. She doesn't love you anyway. She's much too stubborn to love someone like you. _

_  "Well, then," Ryuu said, smiling and drawing a dirk from the belt latched around his waist, "I suppose she'd be better off in the Farplane."_

_  The tiger laughed, but the laugh came out more like the giggle of a child anticipating an exciting new activity, then he straightened himself, seeming to catch his error. He looked at Bahamut curiously for a moment, and purred in his malicious tone, "Tell me, Dragon, what do the other aeons think of your little escapade?" _

_  Bahamut suddenly became his dragon self. He grinned down at the tiger threateningly, seeming to challenge him. "They are unaware as of yet, and it will stay that way, or you will both suffer. Just remember your jobs and meet me here again tomorrow. We will discuss the manner of doing what must be done. You will both sate your hunger for the Guardian's blood, and I will rid Spira of his nonsense for eternity." _

_  The tiger smiled. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Dragon, may we meet again in good health and good spirits. Good times are surely ahead!" _

_  Bahamut began to disappear, and I saw a small look of disgust flit across his face, as if he had just realized how barbaric a task he had assigned to the two, but he was soon gone, leaving a deceitfully smiling aeon and a perplexed Ryuu in his wake. _

~*~*~*~

  My eyes opened quickly, and I blinked at the sunlight filtering in through one of the Inn's windows. My mind was still trying to digest all of which I'd heard in my intricate dream. 

  _It can't have been real.. _I thought to myself, staring at the ceiling and trying to sort out all of which I'd heard. Bahamut had said that 'the Guardian' was his enemy, a nuisance. I frowned. Guardian was my Golden Dragon, the aeon that came at my summoning and vanquished enemies in a great display of valor, or so I assumed. Why wouldn't Bahamut be happy for Spira to have such a protector? I laid my head back down on the pillow and sighed, wishing that I understood more. If Bahamut and Guardian were enemies, then that made Bahamut my enemy. I had once admired the great black dragon, but now all of that admiration was seeping away. I had heard Bahamut order two of the most despicable creatures that I knew to kill me! I was all of a sudden frightened. My world had just been turned upside down, and I was silently hoping that the dream had been just that, a simple, harmless dream that had resulted from my wild imagination. I shivered under the blankets that lay on top of me. What was happening? 

  A soothing voice at once spoke up in my head. **_Worry not, Destiny, it's your imagination. _**

****

****I didn't believe the voice for a second, and said so in my mind. 

  _You want me, come and get me!_


	16. The Dragon Speaks

Notes: 

**Bold print means that Guardian is speaking in Destiny's mind. **

_Italics mean that Destiny is either thinking or responding to Guardian. _

**This Chapter:** Guardian and Destiny finally speak. Destiny begins to learn a bit about herself, though not much.

**Next Chapter:** To Zanarkand we go! The chapter is entitled: 'On the Road Again'. Zanarkand is an important mark in this story, a certain event happening there will mark the halfway point. 

Chapter Sixteen: The Dragon Speaks 

****

****

  My head nodded down a bit as the group of us sat around two tables at the Inn awaiting our breakfast. We (Sanya, Ruka, Oryon, Nathan, Sophia, and I) had found Wakka and the rest of the adults shortly after the incident with Ruka and Oryon. Ruka was still upset with Oryon, she refused to speak to him unless she had to, and when she did she spoke in a sort of monotone. Oryon had tried to get her to speak for a while, but had given up after about two hours in his impatience and was now avoiding her. His head was in his arms and he appeared to be sleeping. Sanya giggled and poked him on the head. He grumbled something and didn't move. She chuckled again. I marveled at her amazing ability to be so aware in the morning. I was extremely tired and slightly disgruntled after the strange dream I'd had that night. 

  Sanya looked around and formed an exasperated look on her face. "Aww, come on people! Wake up! It's a nice day, ya?" 

  Sophia glared at her angrily. "Shut up and mind your own business, girlie, I don't need to hear your mouth this early in the morning!" 

  Nathan shot a warning glance at Sophia and purposely put his arm around Sanya to keep her from attacking the crimson eyes woman. Sanya gnashed her teeth and buried her head in Nathan's shoulder. "I hate her!" she whispered. "Get rid of her, she's not coming with us!" 

  Nathan sighed and whispered back, "She's coming, whether you like it or not. She lives in Zanarkand too, and I know exactly what my mother will say as soon as I ask her whether or not we can go home with you guys instead of waiting for the 'Narcissus' to return from the cruise to Bevelle." He pulled a face and imitated his mother, raising his voice a few notches higher. "Oh, Nathaniel, that would be splendid! Sophia's family can come along with us too! You'll have such a nice time, and you can take that little girlfriend of yours to the beach and such. I'm sure Sophie will be so happy to go along with you, oh yes." 

  Sanya giggled and hugged Nathan around the waist. "Your mom's sorta strange, ya?" 

  Nathan snorted. "Every mom's sorta strange." 

  Rikku, who sat in between Lulu and Yuna, raised her emerald eyes to Nathan. "Hey! We heard that!" 

  Yuna laughed softly. "Not all of us. I'm not a mother yet." 

  Lulu smiled. "Be glad. You don't have to put up with them." She indicated Ruka and Sanya, who made a small 'huff' sound and stuck her tongue out at her mother. 

  Kimahri shook his head. "Children.. not listen, make mess, eat, sleep, yell, scream, beg.. difficult to handle at young age, get better as grow. Still not listen, though, even when Kimahri yell at." 

  Yuna frowned. "You had problems with Taira and Kiro? They seemed very well-behaved when they were younger." 

  Kimahri smiled and joked, "Not talk about Taira and Kiro. Talk about Yuna. Yuna not listen, make mess, make Kimahri clean up. Kimahri glad to have good cubs." 

  Everyone laughed, excluding the moody Sophia and the sleeping Oryon, who had begun to snore lightly. Sanya poked him again, harder this time, and managed a gruff grunt, but he was out. 

  The waitresses approached, holding trays of various victuals and calling out the various orders before placing a plate in front of each of us as we responded. I sighed as mine was placed in front of me. I was beginning to feel sort of light-headed, but I shook it off, determined to stay strong. 

**_  Stay strong and we'll both make it through this, _**came a strong, sure voice in my head. I jumped.

  Sanya looked at me quizzically. "Somethin' wrong?" 

  I shook my head, but concentrated on a single thought in my mind, hoping to respond to the voice. _Who are you? _

  You remember the dream, right? I am the 'abomination' of Spira, Guardian, the Dream Keeper, otherwise known as the Golden Dragon, and Guardian, King of the Seas. All of the names fit, I suppose. 

****

I ate, trying to keep up a non-suspicious front. 

  _What are you doing in my head?_

  The dragon seemed startled. **_Do you want me to leave? _**__

_  No! I didn't mean that! I just wanted to know why you're here with me. _

The dragon laughed in my head. He had a friendly voice, he certainly didn't seem like an abomination. **_I AM you, well, in a way. You're a human side of me, and I'm a beast side of you. We're inseparable. _**

****

  Something clicked in my mind. _Then you know about my past! You can tell me everything! All of this time I've been wandering around like a headless chicken and I've had the answers in my own head the whole time! _I was slightly angry that he'd never spoken up before. 

  He chuckled, and I received a picture of him, grinning widely at me. **_Yes, I know everything about you. _**

****

****_Then tell me! I have so many questions. Who're my parents? Where do I come from? Is Destiny even my real name? _I spoke excitedly, my soul craving the answers to my questions. 

  Ruka stared at me, noticing that I'd stopped and sort of froze with the fork still in my mouth. I quickly swallowed what I'd been eating and continued the charade. Keeping my focus on both the Dragon and the rest of the world was hard. 

**_  I can't answer your questions. Not now, it's too early. You might be afraid if you knew. _**The mirth left Guardian's voice temporarily, and my heart dropped like a stone. 

  _Why? Why is it that I don't have the right to know who I am? _I asked plaintively, hoping that the beast was joking with me. I wanted to know, I didn't care what he told me. It would be incredibly relieving just to have a small bit of knowledge about my past. _I'm tired of walking around in a daze!_

  Guardian's voice lowered a bit. **_Soon you'll know, but when you do you'll see why I'm hiding the information from you at the moment. If you were to tell anyone in this world who you truly were, they'd think you crazy!_**

_  But why?_ _It's already as if everyone else knows me more than I do._

_  **Perhaps,**_ Guardian began, and I received a vision of two great blue eyes, the same color as mine, staring at me as if in deep thought. **_Perhaps it's because they do. _**

  I frowned. _Why do you all have to talk to me with cryptic explanations? I would be EXTREMELY happy if someone would give me a straight answer for once! _

  Guardian laughed, booming his laughter in my head, and I took care to keep myself focused on the world at the same time. My head began to ring with the sound of his voice. 

  _What's so funny? _I demanded, beginning to get angry. 

  His laughs died, and I heard his heavy breaths, which echoed mine. **_Cryptic answers are straight answers that travel slower than normal. It's like a race between a shoopuf and a chocobo. The chocobo is obviously going to get to its destination faster, but by the time it does it'll be tired and ready for a rest. The shoopuf will take longer, but will be ready to go much faster, and it can carry heavier burdens. In short, the answers that don't come to you all at once will help you more when you decipher them, and will most likely last in your mind for a lifetime. _**

****

  When he realized that I didn't know what a shoopuf and a chocobo were, he flashed a picture of them standing side by side. I took the shoopuf to be the larger creature, with legs like tree trunks and bluish skin. The chocobo was a smaller yellow bird with large eyes and a long neck. 

  _Do you know what Oryon meant, then, when he said that life was like a chain of people? He said that when one chain breaks the link another takes its place, and that I was one of the replacement chains. What did he mean? _I asked.

**_  He meant, _**Guardian began, **_that you're more than you appear to be. You're here to take the place of a person who left the link wide open. It took twenty years to mend the gap, and I intend to keep it filled. Destiny, girl of mystery, you're going to lead Spira into the presence it could've had! _**

****

~*~*~

  Yes, I know it was short. ^_^; Sorry, but this was something that had to be done. I couldn't keep Guardian anonymous forever, and it's only natural that he should speak up after that dream that Destiny had!

 

****


	17. On the Road Again

_Hi again! ^_^ I'm in the best of moods for writing, so I'm getting chapters up fast. If you've written before, you know how it is. Some weeks I'll be obsessed with working on this and others I'll sort of lean away from it. Writers' block is the most evil thing to ever infest your mind. . _

_Anywho, I'm back with another chapter. _

_Oh, and to answer your question, yeah Taira and Kiro will be in this more, but maybe not much longer. I have to make a big choice for the second half of MOW. ^_^; _

Chapter Seventeen: On the Road Again 

  Guardian whistled appreciatively in my mind as the airship approached the docks. **_I've been on airships before, but that's huge!_** He chuckled and said thoughtfully, **_A lot of things have changed in twenty years._**

  _Huh? _

**_  Never mind, just forget about it, _**he replied in a final sounding tone.

  I frowned. As much as I liked having Guardian around, he was very confusing and he refused to relent and release a few of the secrets that he held within himself. I tried annoying him into talking, but he seemed immune to it. He had simply laughed and said, **_I've used that trick way too many times for it to work on me, Destiny. _** I'd given up after that. 

  It had been exactly a week since Guardian had first spoken up. The airship that was taking us to Zanarkand had been obliged to finish a tour before swinging around to pick us up, but with the word of Cid they had been more than happy to come. I had finished packing what little that I had the day before, all the while trying to ignore Guardian's snide remarks. **_You'd figure that after me rescuing both a village AND a ship they'd at least be grateful and give you some gil. I used to get it just from killing fiends. Maybe I should teach you how to fight. _**

****

  Oh yes, perfect idea. Let's go kill some fiends with my BARE FISTS to get some gil. Why not? 

  He'd simply chortled and remarked once again about how his newfound presence seemed to have affected me. I was acting more and more like I should each day, and he'd told me that rediscovering my emotions would be the first step in finding myself. 

  **_I've been with you this entire time, and for a while I was worried. You've been acting shy and sort of awkward. That's a bad thing. Maybe it would help if I described the OLD you,_** and he'd paused as if awaiting an answer. So I'd replied quickly.

  _Please? _

_  **Aright. Since you asked nicely,**_ and I sensed that he would've winked good-naturedly at me if he had the physical form to. **_You were more outgoing, sort of eccentric. Energetic, gleeful, ready to go, and such. WE were brave, if not incredibly stupid and reckless. You didn't like settling for the lesser side of the deal, and you spoke your mind. You were definitely NOT quiet, shy, or anything that you are now. _**__

_  Would it help if I tried to act more like I feel? _

_  **Sometimes, but not all of the time. You've got to remain a bit inconspicuous. One of the reasons I've not been worried is your thoughts. You think what I feel, and that is some consolation. Though I wouldn't go about following your instincts and punching obnoxious Crusaders in the nose, if you get the picture, **_he'd said warmly, and had flashed me one of his smiling visions. He seemed to grin and smile a lot. I'd asked him once about his own past, but he'd refused to speak of it. **_It doesn't do to dwell on the past too much. I've got to be happy with what I've got now._** He'd said it in a dull, sad sort of tone, so I hadn't inquired further. 

  Now we watched as the airship hovered closer, and I could see the words **_Angelic Queen_** painted on the side in golden letters, counteracting with the salmon pink paint that covered the entire ship. I heard some people on the deck talking back and forth in a strange language that didn't make the slightest bit of sense to me, and I sighed. 

  **_That's Al Bhed. Don't worry; we have Rikku and Ruka as translators, _**Guardian said in a sort of bored voice, knowing that I was clueless about the world. 

  _They're.. Al Bhed? Geez. How many other languages are spoken in Spira? _I asked in exasperation, surveying the ship and catching snatches of Al Bhed.

  **_Only these two, as far as I know. There're other species of peoples on Spira, like the Ronso, which you're already met, and the Guado, who guard the Farplane, _**Guardian replied. 

  _The Farplane? But isn't that like an afterlife sort of deal? It exists physically? _I asked him as the ramp to the airship began to lower. 

  "C'mon!" Sanya said, grabbing my hand and grinning at me. "Let's get going! Zanarkand is a really pretty place, I've been there once before."

  **_Have fun with your friends now, I'll explain later on when we're alone. _**

  I mentally thanked Guardian and followed Sanya up the ramp. Ruka was talking in fluent Al Bhed to one of the men on the ship. She turned to us as we approached. "He says that we'll be in Zanarkand before midnight if we don't have to stop on the way." 

  Sanya grinned. "Good! I want to go to the beach tomorrow." 

  The ramp began to pull up as Oryon, the last of us, strode onto the **_Angelic Queen_** with a huff. He looked like he was in a bad mood. 

  "Whatsa matter?" I asked as he approached us. 

  He let out a string of curses, inserting the name Ryuu between a few, and I laughed. He sneered. "You won't be laughing for long. I live in Zanarkand, so I figured that after the incident on the **_Draconis_** that I could just go home, and I can, but that pompous," and he stopped, once again cursing Ryuu, "is coming with us." 

  Guardian let out a vehement exclamation and I almost echoed him, but restrained myself. "But why?" 

  Oryon grunted and said, "Some get together or other that he insists on attending. I believe that Lady Yuna, her guardians, and their family have been invited as well. It's an unavoidable thing for me, since I am Ryuu's second in command." 

  "Looks like I'll get left out of all the fun," I said, frowning. Where would I go while everyone was at the party?

  Oryon laughed. "Don't count on it. Ryuu has requested your presence in return for what your little aeon did." 

  I frowned. The dream came rushing back at me, and for a moment I had a thought of Ryuu's tiger coming at me, his claws thrust forward and his teeth bared, growling furiously. I shook the vision out of my head, and Guardian said encouragingly, **_Don't worry about it. I've faced that kitty cat before, and I was the victor. Don't think that I can't crush him again. _**

****

  I was curious on what Guardian had just said, but I decided not to comment until we could be truly alone, and I had the feeling that he would refuse to tell me, even if I did question him. I had a feeling that Guardian and the tiger held some sort of grudge between each other, but I wasn't sure what. 

  The ramp had almost finished retracting into the ship when two voices began to yell in unison.

  "Wait!"  
  
  "Not leave us here! Wait!!" 

  Sanya looked over the rail and smiled. "It's Taira and Kiro!" 

  Sure enough, the two Ronso blitzers were hurrying towards the airship, bags slung over their shoulders. They stopped and panted, yelling for the ship to lower the ramp again. "We coming too!" 

  One of the Al Bhed men looked at Yuna, and she nodded. "They're our friends," she said quietly, indicating that they should do as the two Ronso asked. 

  The Al Bhed nodded and rapped out some orders to the two men who controlled the ramp and it was soon lowering to let Taira and Kiro on. They grinned nonchalantly as they scampered up and Taira hugged her father quickly before returning to her brother's side. "We decide," she said, "that we come to Zanarkand. We not have game for another week and a half, so we take some time off." She looked to her father for approval, and Kimahri nodded. Her brother grinned at everyone and waved.

  "Hiyo, how's it doing?" he said, confusing the sentence a bit. His sister giggled and corrected him.

  "It's 'Hiyo, how you doing?'" she said, patting him on the shoulder encouragingly. "Don't worry, you get it right someday!" 

  Her brother yanked her tail, in a teasing sort of way, and she growled at him, but they scampered off quickly, looking like naughty children. Kimahri sighed and rolled his yellow eyes, issuing a laugh from the entire group. 

~*~*~*~

  The ship hummed and buzzed like a peaceful bee, floating through the sky towards the snow-topped mountains in the distance. The sky had begun to take on a lazy pinkish color, and everyone was in a rather serene mood, even Sophia, who had taken to gazing out of the window with a thoughtful expression on her face. 

  **_There's something strange about her, _**Guardian began, **_though I'm not quite sure what. _**__

_  She's just different. Everyone has a different temperament, hers just happens to be like a volcano. Hissing and boiling one second, and then calm the next,_ I thought, watching her as I sipped some sweet juice out of a paper cup and wondered what kind of fruit had been used to make it. 

  **_That's not what I meant, _**Guardian said, snorting. **_She feels different than everyone else. Consequently, I get the same feeling from Oryon, but it's not as bad with him. I feel like I know him. _**

****

****_That's the feeling that I get,_ I thought, crumbling my cup into a ball and shooting it at the nearest garbage can. It went in. 

  **_Good shot, _**Guardian commented. 

  _Thankya._

Ruka came in and sat next to me. She looked a bit upset, and I looked at her quizzically. She sighed. "I'm tired of being mad at Oryon, but he's such a jerk! He won't even give Ryuu a chance." 

  **_He's smart,_** grunted Guardian, and I shooed him out of my thoughts for the time being. 

  "I don't like Ryuu much either, you know that, right?" I said, pulling my knees up to my face.   
  
  She frowned, "Yes, and I still can't figure out why. He's handsome, he's brave," and her speech was interrupted in my mind by a snort from my draconic side.

  "What has he done that classifies him as brave? Where was he when the fiend was tearing up the **_Draconis_**? The Crusaders should've had that thing down before Guardian even had the chance to go and tear it up," I said, and then paled, realizing my mistake. 

  **_Oh, now you've gone and done it. I don't want people knowing that you can speak to me, Destiny! That could cause problems._**

  I ignored the dragon and thankfully Ruka hadn't caught what I'd said. She just turned her head a bit away and said, "He must've done something right to have been accepted as the leader of the Crusaders, y'know?" 

  **_If I know him, the only thing he ever did right was find the right kind of suckers to buy all of his crap,_** Guardian growled. I silently agreed, but said nothing to Ruka. I didn't really understand. **_It's no fault of hers. She simply has a good heart and is willing to accept all kinds of people. It's a good way to be, but a lot of people lose that sort of innocence the hard way. _**

****

  Ruka stared at Sophia and changed the subject, almost as if she was avoiding my answer. "What d'you think she's thinkin' about? She's so mysterious. It's like a cloud covers her, keeping her from the sight of the world." 

  I nodded, lowering my voice so that the red-haired woman wouldn't hear us. "That's about what I was thinking. She's sort of unreadable, and I doubt she ever opens up to anyone." 

  Ruka giggled slightly. "It seems like she lives to make Sanya miserable. Sanya doesn't hate a lot of people, but I'll be Sophia's ranked at the top of her list about now." 

  **_I don't blame her. I'd never be able to get along with someone like her. She's sadistic, _**Guardian commented lazily. **_I generally like people too, but I tend to like 'em a bit more if they're not boring, cruel, or obnoxious._**

****

****_Do you ever stop talking? _

_  **Nope. Live with it. We're going to be together for quite a while. I've had to live the past month as a mute savior, now I'm going public. **_

  I sighed and stood up, stretching. Some of Guardian's boredom was rubbing off on me, and I was incredibly happy when Ruka asked, "You wanna go eat something? We're not going to be in Zanarkand for another few hours, so we might as well do something." 

  **_Finally,_** Guardian said. 

  _You're not happy being an aeon, are you? _I asked. 

  Guardian sighed. **_When you live the best of lives and then wake up in the body of a dragon, sleeping soundly in the seas of Zanarkand, undisturbed for almost a thousand years, you get a little bit unhappy with yourself, and you realize just how much you had. Life is good, Destiny, live it. _**

  I tried to do what he always did and formed a picture of myself winking at him, he chuckled. 

  _Don't worry, Guardian, if it's my choice we'll both live good lives in the nicest parts of Spira, and you won't be a dragon. If there's anything that I'm beginning to learn, it's that there is a good side to everything. Don't give up hope on yourself just yet! _

~*~*~*~

^_^ Long one! Whee.. And we draw closer to part two of MOW. 

I'm working fast.. Eeeh.. ^_^ No more writers' block. Happiness, joy, and lots of tea for me!  


	18. Fraternizing With the Enemy

_Only this chapter and maybe two more left in part one of MOW. Enjoy! ^_^              _ Chapter Eighteen: Fraternizing With the Enemy 

  The peaks of Gagazet rolled slowly past and I was given my first sight of Zanarkand. The beautiful buildings stretched high above those in Luca and even the homes appeared grander, especially when compared to the almost primitive huts of Besaid. Sanya gave a small, tired cheer as the airship began to descend slowly, and Guardian gave a small snort in my mind.

**_  If you think that's something, then you should have seen it when I lived there, _**he said with a bit of contempt. **_It'll take a long time before Spira reaches the technological height that it had back then. A lot of things were lost when Sin came about. _**

****

_  I'll bet, _I replied, admiring the view of the magnificent city below. _I wouldn't know, though. That's the most beautiful city I've ever seen._

_  **You haven't seen too many, but that probably is the best. Bevelle would probably rank second,**_ Guardian said. 

  The airship pulled into the port slowly and gave a small bump as its underside touched the paved ground. The Al Bhed people began shouting orders again, and the ramp lowered slowly, admitting us passage to the ground. As the ramp touched down Yuna began her descent, followed by Kimahri and his two restless children, then by Lulu, Wakka, Sanya, Ruka, Rikku, and I. Oryon lumbered down sleepily, followed by an annoyed looking Sophia, who clicked her tongue when she reached the bottom.

  "Terrible landing," she commented. 

  Ryuu strode down the ramp, followed by a pack of his Crusader lackeys, and I faintly heard one of the ground crew women make a small squealing sound. I rolled my eyes. When would these people learn?

  **_Most likely never,_** Guardian said. 

  I was always a bit surprised when Guardian replied to something that hadn't been directed towards him. _I can never have a private thought, can I? _

_  **Nope, **_Guardian replied, and I saw once again the picture of his big dumb grin. He was very humanoid, even as a dragon, and I vaguely wondered what he'd looked like when he'd been human. He'd had blue eyes, that was sure. His two cerulean orbs stood out among his golden-yellow scales. He seemed to be posed in a human pose most of the time as well. He was often lying down with one clawed hand under his chin in a bored sort of way. **_You get like that when you've had no action for a while, _**he said smugly, knowing that his constant view of my mind was getting on my nerves. 

  Ryuu swiveled over to whisper something in Yuna's ear, and I saw her nod and give a small smile. He returned the smile, though I noticed that the smile didn't reach his yellow eyes, which glinted maliciously from under his brow. 

  _Guardian? _

_  **Yeah? **_

****

****_Do you think that the dream that I had was real?_

_  **I know it was, **_he said. **_Just try and stay away from Ryuu. You'll be safest that way. _**

****

****_Alright._

  I yawned sleepily, and Wakka chuckled. "Better get off to bed, ya? We've all had a long day." 

  His daughter nodded in a tired agreement and stretched. "I wanna go to sleep so I can get up early and go swimmin' in the beautiful Zanarkand Sea, ya? I'll be swimmin' all day tomorrow," she said, looking to the east, where the navy waters of the ocean lapped calmly against beautiful white sand and steel docks. 

  "Not all day, unless you're going to skip the convention tomorrow," Lulu said, nudging her daughter. "You know, the one _Ryuu's_ attending," she teased. Sanya blushed a deep crimson.

  "I have Nathan. Ryuu doesn't matter," she said quietly, turning her reddening face away. 

  Ruka grinned sheepishly. "Can I have him then?" 

  Everyone laughed sleepily, and Rikku jogged over to the group. "The pilots know about an Inn we can stay in for the night. We'll get situated tomorrow. C'mon!" 

~*~*~*~*~

  I stared out of the window in the beautiful Inn that the Al Bhed crew had led us to. Each room came complete with two queen beds, a balcony, sofas, a kitchen, and a gorgeous glass table in the center of the middle room. The beds were soft and cozy, but I hadn't been able to sleep, so I instead sated Guardian's desire to look upon the stars of Zanarkand once again. 

  **_The sky never changes,_** he sighed. **_I've been to this place three times. Once when it was the great machina city of the past, another time when it was ruins, and now, when it is beautiful and yet doesn't begin to compare with my home. _**

****

****_You homesick? _I asked.

  **_I'm sick, but not really homesick. I miss the people, not the buildings. It seems as though I'm cursed to live a thousand lives and lose ten thousand friends, even though this is only the third time in my thousand years of living that I've truly lived. I slept for a very long interval between the first and second times. _**

****

****_Maybe this will be the end then. You'll be able to be happy,_ I said, trying to sound encouraging.

  **_Happiness comes at a price, _**Guardian remarked. 

  _And nothing is forever, _I reminded him, trying to cheer him up, but I was instead greeted with a moan of pain and longing. __

_  **Don't remind me! **_he hissed in an icy voice. **_I know that better than anyone. _**

****

****_Sorry, _I said meekly, sad that I'd hurt him. 

  **_Forget it,_** he growled, and I sighed. I trailed back over to one of the queen beds and flopped myself down on it. My blonde hair trailed over the pillows and I noticed how long it was. I suddenly had the feeling that I was trapped in my own body. I knew that the feeling was emanating from Guardian's being. I covered myself up, trying to ignore the shoots of pain and agony that were swirling through my mind.

  Guardian let out another pained moan, and I had the strangest vision of an airship against a pink sky. It was becoming smaller and smaller and I realized that it was one of Guardian's memories. He'd fallen off of an airship it appeared. The water seemed a hungry monster as it reached out to him from below, and he landed with a splash. 

    **_No! Not again! Never again! _**he shouted in my mind in a sort of defiance. **_I'll change it all! This world isn't right!_**

~*~*~*~*~

  Guardian was of a better temper when we woke up the next morning and went down to the beach. I was wearing a bathing suit that Sanya and Ruka had picked out earlier. It was a bikini, and that fact seemed to amuse Guardian terribly. He giggled in sort of a childish way as I put it on and his giggles had turned into full-blown laughs by the time we'd reached the beach. 

  _Stop being so childish!_ I hissed at him. _You pervert!_

_  **I never laughed at you when you changed before, **_Guardian pointed out. 

  _Then what's so funny now?_ I inquired as I waded out into the clear water. 

  **_Nothing. I think I might be going insane,_** he said. **_I had a strange thought. _**

****

****_Like? _

_  **Heh. Your body is half my body. I've never actually put a bikini on. **_

****

****I blinked and sent him an irritated thought, then focused on the water. I wanted to see how long I could stay underwater. 

  **_You have a long time to wait then, Destiny. We could stay submerged for almost five hours last time I checked. _**

****

  _What??_

_  **Every blitzball player has to know how to stay underwater for elongated periods of time, **_Guardian said sensibly. 

  _So I WAS a blitzball player! _

Guardian's grin appeared in my mind once again. **_What else would we be? _**

****

****His final quote perplexed me a bit, but the water seemed to call out to me, so I went under and swam around gracefully for a while before coming up again. Sanya popped up close to me. "Thought you'd drowned for a second there!" she said, winking. 

  "Nope!" I said smugly, proud of my newfound ability to swim like a dolphin and with less restrictions than most people. 

  Sanya grinned. "You probably were a blitzer before you lost your memory, ya? If you weren't you need to become one. You're good!"

  Guardian flashed a smile again, this time with a lot of smugness and pride. **_Better than you think,_** he mused mentally, as if speaking directly to Sanya. I giggled.

  
  Sanya looked at me with her head tilted to one side like a curious puppy. "What's funny, eh?" 

  "Nothin'," I said. She shrugged and turned back to her own swimming. 

  I sighed and stared up into the sky. _Were you helping me when I performed that Sphere Shot?_

_  **Yes, but you didn't need much help. It comes natural,**_ Guardian said, flashing a cocky grin. **_I can't wait until I get you in the sphere again. You can be on the Aurochs with Sanya. _**

****

****_If they want me on their team, _I said.

  Guardian's booming laugh reverberated through my head. **_You don't need to worry about that! If I start retraining you you'll be back to normal potential quickly, and then the teams will be BEGGING you to join up. _**

****

****I smiled to myself. I finally had a plan for my future. I wouldn't be a burden to Wakka and Sanya much longer. _How much to Blitzball players make?_

Guardian chuckled. **_Depends.. I'd say that we'll be making a bit more than the usual person. Though I must admit, Taira and Kiro are good. _**

****

****_You got that right!_

~*~*~*~*~

  I stood in front of the mirror, observing myself and twisting from side to side, making the solid white dress flow about my figure. The dress was long and flowing and my hair was tied up in a bun, letting only small strands caress my face. 

  **_Ugh.. I hope this thing doesn't last long,_** Guardian said in annoyance. He obviously didn't enjoy wearing a dress, and to tell the truth, neither did I. 

****

_  You and me both, _I muttered, half to myself and half to him. I grimaced, but I exited the bathroom and presented myself to the waiting party (Sanya and Ruka, who had picked out the dress for me, realizing that I had no sense when it came to stuff like that).

  "Yeah! That's great!" Sanya said, twirling her own purple dress. "I knew that white was your color." 

  Ruka smiled. "It's pretty," she stopped and frowned slightly, "but I still think you woulda looked nice in the blue one. It matched your eyes perfectly." 

  "Better to be safe than sorry, ya?" Sanya said, twirling her dolphin charm in her fingers distractedly. "Let's jus' go already."

  I grinned impishly. "Eager to return to your boyfriend?"

  She blushed. "Oh be quiet. C'mon, let's go," and she stormed out of the room, glowing a light crimson and biting her tongue slightly. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder agitatedly as we exited the room after her and motioned for us to hurry up. "Slowpokes," she muttered.

~*~*~*~*~

  The ball had been going on for about half an hour. Guardian and I sat, watching the other people dance and drink. Both of us were extremely bored.

  **_I hate stuffy things like this,_** Guardian whined. **_When's it gonna be over?_**

****

****_Oh shut up. You're complaining only make it worse, _I growled at him. He quieted down, but I could still feel his boredom and a small sense of drowsiness crept in on me. My eyes drooped as I clicked my nails against a glass filled with a violet liquid that I'd tasted once and immediately spat back out, disturbing a few of the more 'sophisticated' people nearby. Guardian had informed me that it was wine. 

  **_Yeah, never liked the stuff m'self, _**he'd commented lazily.

  _You could've warned me,_ I'd grumbled.

  Ruka trailed over to our table, a look of disappointment on her face. "I can't get Ryuu to even look at me," she mumbled.

  I began to reply to her statement, but a very giddy looking Sanya had joined the table. She looked half-drunk and quite happy. "Oooh! It's so wonderful! I love Nathan so much, ya?" She wavered a little bit as she plopped herself down on one of the chairs and giggled pointlessly. 

  **_That's another reason why I never drank,_** Guardian grumbled. **_All drunk people do is make fools of themselves. _**

****

****_I'm sure that you didn't need the alcoholic influence to do that,_ I teased. Guardian grumbled something else, but he was in a bad temper. _What's the matter? You can't be that bored._

He was quiet for a moment. **_I have a bad feeling about this whole thing. _**

****

  I didn't comment. Ryuu had sauntered over to our table and was now leaning on it, trying his best to look appealing. I connected my eyes with his and he smiled alluringly. I didn't phase and my gaze didn't waver. "I was wondering," he began, "if you would be so kind as to dance with me?" 

  Guardian's rage flared up within me and his emotions began to take control of me again. I fought with his fierce anger and kept my face straight. "I don't thin-"

  "Of course she would!" the drunken Sanya gibbered cheerfully, and she forcefully lifted me from my chair by my arm and shoved me at Ryuu, who grinned fiercely. "Here ya go! Have fun now, buh-bye!" 

  **_NO! Not with him! I'll.. I'll kill him! _**Guardian raged, and I had another picture. It was a picture of a battle, but I couldn't make out anything. Nothing but a blue sword and.. Yuna? **__**

****

****_Guardian! Calm down!_ I ordered, trying to keep myself as calm as possible as Ryuu took my hands and placed them on his shoulders and then placed his own hands on my waist.

  **_GAH! You can't stand for this Destiny!_**

****

****I tried to pull away, but his grip was strong and he had no intention of letting me go. "What's the rush?" he asked in his deceptively calm voice. I forced one of my hips away, but he clung to me. "Come now, Destiny," he muttered. "There's no reason to be afraid. 

  **_That's it! I can't take it! Please, Destiny!_**

****

  I tried to keep my face calm and my mannerism cool, but my vision was beginning to cloud with the red-hot anger that was Guardian. Ryuu uttered a soft low growl and pulled me as close to his body as he could, until our two forms were touching and I was staring into his golden eyes. Guardian's anger finally broke through the shell that I'd been trying to put up, and I was dazed for a few seconds. I couldn't control myself as my arm reached back and I punched him straight in his obnoxious face. Guardian gazed out through my eyes in fierce loathing and I gave in. The crowd had begun to gasp and I saw Oryon, who'd been surveying the whole thing, stand up in surprise. Ryuu was flat on the floor, a small bit of blood oozing from his nose. I turned away from the scene and stormed from the building, leaving behind many whispers and glares from his loyal fans, even a disbelieving stare from Ruka. 

  I walked until I came to the docks, and there I stood, surveying the Zanarkand Sea. Guardian made a small, pitiful sound in my head. **_The Tiger is upon us._**

****

~*~*~*~*~

  ^_^ _Next chapter is Part One's finale. It's not over by a longshot, though. Part Two will most likely be smaller than Part One, but it's finally drawing to a climax.. right? ^_~_****


	19. Humanity

****

This is most likely the longest chapter that I've ever done. This is also the main reason why the fic went up from G to PG. ^_~

__

Sophia as Lifia speaks

Chapter Nineteen: Humanity  
  
My entire body was tense, waiting for the arrival of my hired assassin. **_He'll come, _**Guardian said with confidence, restoring a bit of it within myself. **_He'll come and we'll give him the fight of his life! Now's the time for you to start remembering, Destiny. This is the day that you've been waiting for._** I nodded, but kept silent. I balled my hands into fists and gritted my teeth. Tension, adrenaline, fear, and confusion were mounting themselves high inside of my mind. I irritably flicked a strand of my blonde hair behind my shoulders and found myself pulling my hair down from where Sanya and Ruka had fixed it. Guardian cursed profusely inside of me. **_This dress is going to make things incredibly difficult. It'll be hard for you to move around in it._**  
  
_If I summon you we shouldn't have much of a problem, right?_ I asked hopefully. I wasn't looking forward to fighting Ryuu. He was a professional Crusader and I was just a blonde girl in a dress. I had no weapons except my fists and feet that I could readily use.   
  
Guardian's confident voice came to me once again. **_You'll have no problems, trust me. If it's up to me you won't be fighting empty handed, either. Oh, no no.._** He sounded very sly. **_I'll supply you with everything you-  
_**  
Footsteps echoed through the docks, getting increasingly louder as the person in question neared. If you have anything for me, now would be the time, **_Guardian!_** I pleaded, turning around abruptly. I could feel the fear building up inside of me.   
  
**_No! That's not Ryuu, _**Guardian said. **_You would hear he and the tiger talking if it were him. He's incredibly cocky and arrogant, you know that. The tiger is the same way.   
_**  
_Then who?_ I asked, confused. _Could it be Ruka? We left in quite an awkward situation. _  
  
**_Footsteps are too heavy. It's a man,_** Guardian grunted. I listened closely. The footsteps did sound a bit too heavy to be Ruka's.   
  
The man who rounded the corner evaporated all of my fears. "Oryon!" I exclaimed joyously. He nodded solemnly and strode to my side at the edge of the dock. His chocolate eyes trailed down into the waters below.   
  
"Quite a scene you made," he said, sending me a sharp glare. I bowed my head in shame for both Guardian and me. "Don't worry about it. That man's enough to send anyone over the deep end. I'm lucky that I've held out as long as I have." He smiled reassuringly.   
  
I smiled back, but turned my eyes down to the gently rolling sea. "I'm scared," I muttered. I looked at him plaintively. "I've never fought before. I'm seriously freaked out now!" I shook a little bit as I sat down on the dock watching my reflection. Everything seemed wrong. Everything seemed twisted, mutilated, and foreign.   
  
**_Calm down, Destiny,_** Guardian said soothingly. **_You're not afraid of the fight. You know that you aren't._**  
  
"Then what am I afraid of?" I cried aloud. Oryon didn't flinch, even though I was taken aback by my sudden outburst. Oryon simply continued staring at the waters. He seemed to be concentrating, almost like when Guardian and I spoke.  
  
Guardian was silent for a moment, lost in his own little world. He seemed to be thinking of something deeply. **_That's it!_** he exclaimed, his voice full of triumph and a bit of amusement. **_How could I have missed it?   
_**  
I was startled. _What? _  
  
He laughed. **_Do you remember one of the first dreams you had? A dream of a lion, a phoenix, and Bahamut? Well, it seems that the Lion and Phoenix are still on our side! I knew who they were from the beginning, but I had never imagined that they would come here! We now have an extreme advantage over Ryuu! _**  
  
I blinked, and then, staring at Oryon, came to a realization. _Oryon! He's the Lion! It makes sense, I suppose! But.. you knew the Lion and the Phoenix? _  
  
Guardian sent me a smug grin. I**_ knew the Lion much longer than I did the Phoenix, but yes, I knew them. The Lion was a close friend of mine. I suppose he's still following the promise that he made to my father._**  
  
_Your father? That must have been so long ago.._ I said, then realized that I was being a bit rude by reminding Guardian of his age. He didn't seem daunted by the remark.  
  
**_Not really. Twenty something years ago, I believe. The time when I came out of my long sleep for the first time in one thousand years,_** he said.   
  
_Oh,_ I said, standing up quietly. Footsteps had begun to sound again. Low, hushed voices whispered maliciously and I knew that they were plotting my demise. Oryon took a step forward and drew the sword he'd strapped across his shoulders as Ryuu rounded the corner alone.   
  
"Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise," Ryuu said, rubbing where I'd punched him sorrowfully. "You may step down, Oryon, I want to speak to Destiny alone."   
  
Oryon scowled. "Haven't you caused enough trouble tonight?" he asked, disregarding Ryuu's rank completely.   
  
Ryuu's voice changed into a hiss. "Step down, Oryon, or I shall force you!"   
  
Oryon leaned on his sword impassively. "Oh? How will you do that?" He asked, smiling like a mischievous child.   
  
Ryuu let out a roar and took one step back. He then stopped and smiled, his hawk-like eyes glinting dangerously. "It seems that you have the advantage," he began, spreading his empty hands wide, "for you see that I have no weapon." He looked at Oryon plaintively, as if pleading for his life. "Surely you wouldn't attack an unarmed man, Oryon." Oryon looked a bit doubtful, but stayed immobile. "That's what I thought," Ryuu said, smiling. "Now if you'll just step aside and let me speak to the girl then no harm shall be done."  
  
"Nice try," Oryon said, smirking. "I'm afraid you'll just have to say whatever you must from where you are."  
  
Ryuu growled and lurched forward, but was stopped by Oryon's sword. "What do you care about the girl?" Ryuu asked, looking Oryon straight in the eye. "What business do you have caring about a girl who appeared from the sea?"   
  
Oryon seemed hesitant, but he soon smiled. "I have every business with her, considering that I am Summoner Destiny's guardian!"   
  
"Summoner Destiny's.. guardian?!?" Ryuu asked in outrage, stepping back. "It's hardly proper to call that," and he pointed one shaking finger at me, "a Summoner." He laughed. "She doesn't even know how to control that beast of hers. It simply comes and goes as it pleases."   
  
Guardian's temper was beginning to flare up again. **_I can't wait to get him in my grip! _**he raged.   
  
I stood and turned to Ryuu, feeling confident in myself. "What do you want?" I asked, glaring at him in hatred.   
  
"I merely wanted to talk in privacy," Ryuu said, gesturing towards Oryon. "If we're to do so you must-"  
  
"Oryon stays," I said firmly.   
  
Ryuu's left eye twitched in irritation. "He either leaves, or he dies!" he said, his voice becoming deep and booming.   
  
**_He'll attack!_** Guardian shouted. I took a step back.   
  
"No!" I cried, but my cry was lost as a deep rumble erupted from a small shadow forming on the ground. The shadow began to take shape, looking more and more like the Tiger that I knew from my dreams and my nightmares. The electric blue stripes that defined him as a Tiger and not a panther began snaking themselves across his black fur and he opened his two eyes, the same color as the stripes. He flexed his claws and pawed at the ground, smiling at Oryon with his ivory teeth.   
  
"Move out of the way," he commanded, swiping one paw at the air. Oryon didn't move. "Out of the way!" the Tiger raged, coiling into a pouncing position. Oryon smiled, twiddling his sword in a circle and staying silent. "You shall die for your insolence!" the Tiger raged.  
  
_He's going to kill Oryon!_ I said in my mind, running forward in reality. Oryon held his hand out to stop me.   
  
**_Let him do what he must, _**Guardian sighed.   
  
The Tiger launched himself into the air. _No! Don't let the Tiger attack him, Guardian! I begged. Please do something! _  
  
The Tiger's claws raked towards Oryon, his teeth flashing in the moonlight. Oryon remained immobile as the Tiger seemed to come upon him, and then…   
  
The Tiger screamed in pain as something collided with him, sending his gigantic body skidding across the dock and into the waters below. He resurfaced seconds later, gasping for breath and cursing the world. A Lion now paced the spot where he'd been thrown from the dock. Guardian roared triumphantly in my head.  
  
The lion turned to me, looking me over with his one auburn eye. The other was covered with a large battle scar, rendering it useless. **_What'd I tell ya?_** Guardian asked.  
  
The lion turned his giant head back to Ryuu and then said, without looking at me, "I believe it's your turn, Destiny."   
  
_Are you ready, Guardian?_ I asked.  
  
**_Ready as I'll ever be_**, Guardian said confidently.   
  
_All right then, let's go._  
  
The waters below me began to wave choppily, increasing in force with every second. I gasped. I'd never actually seen my summoning being performed. The water seemed to take on a life of it's own. It no longer waved in one direction, but all directions. The Tiger quickly scrambled from the sea, panting and hissing, just as the water began to spin in a whirlpool. He looked at the Lion, who glared back and flexed his claws. The Tiger hissed. "Everyone knows that tigers are the biggest cats of them all," he growled in a challenge.

The Lion smiled and said, "True, but I have more combat experience than you, Seymour."

"Seymour?!?" I gasped, turning away from the churning waters for a second. The story of Yuna's pilgrimage floated through my head. "Seymour Guado?"

The Tiger's eyes flicked to me again, and he bared his teeth in a cruel grin. "Ryuu," he began calmly, "would you be so kind as to dispose of the girl before her beast pulls itself from the water? It would be much easier that way." 

Ryuu nodded and ran forward, drawing a hooked knife from beneath his shirt. He smiled and rubbed his bruise. "I'm sorry, Destiny, to have to do this to such an interesting and beautiful girl, but what must be done must be done." He stopped a few feet away from me and pointed the knife at my heart. "We have direct orders for your assassination from a very profound figure by the name of Bahamut. I'm sure that your paths have crossed before. He doesn't much like that 'Guardian' of yours. Some old rivalry between them or something. Nothing against you at all, girl." He reached back his hand and charged. "Goodbye, Destiny!" 

Oryon's blade was at his throat in a second, quivering against his exposed flesh. "Move and you die, Ryuu!" he breathed. The sounds of the two fighting aeons were heard in the background as Oryon stepped calmly to Ryuu's side. The waters had begun to rise, forming an egg shape. Two cerulean eyes blinked from within it, as if waking up from a long sleep. Feathered wings began to stretch from the egg slowly, flapping droplets of water everywhere and creating a small rain. A low grumble echoed through the air as a gigantic body stretched out of the egg. A lazy roar emanated from the aeon as he slowly drifted down to the waters and opened his eyes fully. Steely golden skin shimmered in the moonlight and silver teeth glinted white as the gigantic dragon flapped his wings once more and yawned. Two giant blue ovules looked down upon the scene and all activity stopped. The Lion backed away from the Tiger and smiled up at the dragon, who had reached to his back and pulled a long blue sword from a sheath there. The sword seemed to be made of the sea itself. 

The Lion turned to Seymour and Ryuu. "Would you like to have the finishing blow, my friend, Guardian, King of the Seas?" he asked. 

Guardian grinned. "Throw me one of them. We can both do this. I know you've been bored waiting all that time." 

"Too true," the Lion sighed, stretching. "The man would be too easy for you. I'll let you take care of Seymour." 

"Goody," Guardian said, bringing the sword above his head. "It's time you went to the Farplane and stayed there, Guado!" he roared, flying up into the air. The waters seemed to follow him. "Let's do battle for the last time!" His sword flashed as he flew towards Seymour, whose blue eyes widened. The sword was about three times the length of his body, quite enough to cleave him in two. 

Guardian let out a pained cry as a black body hurtled into him, sending him crashing down into the docks, narrowly missing us bystanders. I cried out. Hot knives seemed to pull at my flesh. Oryon had let up his grip on the sword in surprise, and it was quickly thrown from his grip by Ryuu, who nodded at the black figure joyfully. "Useful little beast, that Bahamut. Comes in handy in a tight situation," he said. Bahamut was digging his golden claws into Guardian's back, issuing cries of pain from him as he desperately tried to throw the smaller dragon off of himself. Bahamut bit his teeth into Guardian, tearing at his stone-hard flesh with equally hard teeth.

"Guardian!" I cried, running forward a bit. Ryuu's knife was at my throat in a second and as a warning he pressed it against my throat, issuing a little blood. I stopped. Guardian had managed to throw Bahamut off of his back and was now advancing on him, his face a mask of rage and fury, his claws gripped tightly around the blue sword's handle. The sword met Bahamut's shoulder and the black dragon screamed in pain, falling off of the dock and into the waters before launching himself into the air again. 

"Come and fight me, Guardian! We will battle to the death!" Bahamut cried, spreading his clawed hands wide in invitation. "If you wish so much to change your past and your future, then attack me, King of the Seas!" He smiled and his eyes flashed dangerously. "Human born and changed into an aeon because you defied the teachings. Changed into a Final Aeon so soon after the death of your love! How you must have longed to avenge her, to defeat Sin for destroying her!"

Guardian hissed and began to rise into the air. "It is because of you she died! You and those phony prophecies and teachings! You enjoyed all of the attention that you got, enjoyed being worshipped as a hero, so you kept your mouth shut about the truth of Sin until the day that I came. You saw me as the proper pawn to end the act forever, or at least until you got bored again and decided to find some other way to make yourself a hero! You brainwashed the minds of every human on Spira with the help of those monks and maesters, you even brainwashed the minds of your fellow aeons!" 

Bahamut sneered. "You have stayed too human for too long, Guardian. You must learn to fight like a beast and act as a beast. You are a beast and so are we all!" 

"Then why do you grudge the world for your own fate?" Guardian asked, slamming his body into Bahamut's and sending the smaller dragon spiraling down into the waters. "You are a tainted soul and you need to accept your final rest!" Guardian raged, plummeting after him. He grabbed Bahamut by the neck and flew above the sea, squeezing his claws. "You would have let Yuna die as well!" 

Ryuu's grip had tightened on me and I was now facing the waters with my hands behind my back and a knife at my throat. The fight between Seymour and the Lion had begun again and it seemed as though both of them were at equal odds. Ryuu threw my head down towards my reflection in the water. "Take a good look, _Destiny_, because your life ends here!" The knife began to press harder against my throat and I gurgled. 

"No!" a voice called. Ryuu's arm lifted above my head and the knife clattered to the ground harmlessly. Sophia walked forward, her fingers spread and her eyes flashing a brilliant red. "No, Ryuu, not today!" Ruka and the still drunk Sanya had followed her and were amazed by what they saw. 

"Bahamut?" Ruka gasped, looking towards the skies. "Ryuu?" she looked at the man, who was staring helplessly at his immobile arm. "O-Oryon and Destiny were right!" 

Sophia smiled. "That's how the world is, girl. Never trust those too high above you. Power is a parasite that infects the soul," she said, bringing her arm down and sending Ryuu crashing into the dock. He groaned and lay still, unconscious, a small pool of blood forming around his head. 

"Ish he dead?" Sanya asked, slurring and wavering a little bit. 

"Not yet, girlie," Sophia said, striding forward. "Bahamut," she called, "your assassin has fallen. Back away from the Guardian at once." Seymour raged and lunged at Sophia but was struck back by a bolt of fire. "Stay back, you cursed Guado. You're in much too deep over your head as it is." Seymour drew his paw backwards, but it stopped suddenly in the air and she turned to him. "Must we do this the hard way?"

A fair crowd had begun to grow. It seemed as if the entire city was out, pointing at the battle in the skies and gaping at the woman who could control the Tiger. Yuna stumbled forward, followed by Kimahri, Wakka, Rikku, Lulu, Taira, and Kiro. Guardian's head snapped towards her. "Yuna!" Bahamut took that one second and his dark fist collided with the side of Guardian's face. Guardian spun in the air and roared in pain. His sword fell to the sea. Bahamut was now pummeling with every blow he could manage, raking at his face and his snout with his golden claws, sinking his harsh teeth into his neck and literally trying to tear the larger dragon apart. He had found Guardian's one weakness. 

"Someone's gotta help him!" Ruka cried, running forward. Her eyes were filled with tears. My body had begun to shake violently. "He's hurting Destiny too!" 

I wasn't hurting, but I fell to the ground anyway, one palm resting on the dock and my other on my knee. I felt as if electricity had begun to build up within me. The group had begun towards me. "No!" Sophia cried. "Let her do it on her own!" I stood again and stumbled backwards. I felt as if some kind of power was possessing me, and I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see or think straight. I saw Sophia run towards me for a second and then felt warm wings cover me. **_Accept the power. You have the ability to help Guardian fight this battle. Accept your strength!_** My body quivered and I stumbled forward once again. **_Let the power go! Let it go towards that black nightmare! Help Guardian erase him and his plague forever!_** I felt as if I knew what to do. I pointed at Bahamut and then backed off a small bit. My hands formed a small circle and the electricity began to flow into them, making them flash a brilliant blue. **_That's it, Destiny!_** Sophia's voice cried. I felt, rather than saw a brilliant beam flashing towards Bahamut. His eyes widened as it impacted and he was blown away from Guardian, who took the opportunity to launch an attack of his own. 

"It's time you went to the Farplane, Bahamut!" Guardian cried, his sword forming in his hands again. He lunged at Bahamut and impaled his sword straight through him. "Goodbye!" Guardian said, pulling the sword back and roaring triumphantly as a disbelieving Bahamut burst into a shower of pyreflies. 

The wings closed themselves over me again and I watched as Guardian, with one last look at Yuna, shimmered and faded. He smiled encouragingly and I felt him nestle into my mind again. **_You have earned your reward,_** Sophia said, both to Guardian and me. **_Will you take them all, or do you wish to go alone? _**

**__**

I hate being alone, Guardian mumbled softly, seeming to fall into a deep sleep. 

**__**

Then rest. You shall not be alone. Rest, Guardian, Destiny, you have come so far along the path to recovery. Rest now. Sophia's soothing tone lulled us both into a trance and I fell to the ground, catching a glimpse of a fiery bird before my eyes fluttered shut. **_You shall never be alone again._**

What about Seymour and Ryuu? my mind wondered sleepily. 

**__**

They will be dealt with. Worry only about yourself. Sleep now. 

And so we did.

~*~*~ **End Part One **~*~*~

Eeehe. ^_^ I liked writing this chapter. It was long but exciting. I hope you enjoyed Part One, now to begin Part Two.   
Oh, and there won't be a Part Three. Just Part Two, which will consist of as many chapters as it takes to finish this and an Epilogue. 

I hope you enjoyed this!


	20. The Fayth of Guardian

_Hey all! Sorry this one took so long, but I've been distracted. School just got out and I've been so busy for the last few weeks that writing Chapter Twenty just slipped my mind. But, anyhow, I'm back with another Chapter and the beginning of Part Two. __^_^_ _Hope ya likes. I'll be getting them up a bit faster now that things are beginning to straighten up. The conclusion draws nigh! _

****

**Part TWO: Memories of the Past**

**  
Chapter Twenty: The Fayth of Guardian**

****

  _Oh.. _

  My eyes fluttered open, welcoming in the calming rays of sunlight. The sky was a tranquil blue with traces of fluffy white clouds here and there, and dotted with what looked like living rainbows, twisting in the air gracefully and swishing past my face every once in awhile. 

  **_Pyreflies? _**Guardian's voice mused in my head. He sounded confused. **_Where are we? _**

****

  He and I both twisted my head from side to side, taking in the scene. We were in the middle of a ruined city, complete with twisted skyscrapers and roads that looked as though an earthquake had ravaged them. Debris was strewn everywhere in the form of metals bent into odd shapes, pieces of torn rock, and shards of shattered glass.

  **_Zanarkand? It can't be! _**Guardian roared, taking full control of me. I felt my body bolt into a standing position and run over to the nearest building. **_No! This can't be Zanarkand!_**

****

  A pyrefly floated in front of my cerulean eyes, hovering there for a few seconds and then floating away, it's luminous tail seeming to tease us. 

  **_You aren't in Zanarkand. You are dreaming,_** Sophia's voice said gently. **_It is a common side effect of what I intend to do. You aren't the only wandering spirits here. Yuna, Oryon, Ruka, Sanya, and all of the rest of them are here, too. _**

  The pyreflies had begun condensing around an area at the edge of the water and the images of three men and a woman shimmered into view. 

  **_You look at Lord Braska, Sir Jecht, Sir Auron, and Lord Braska's wife,_** Sophia said. **_You stand in Old Zanarkand. We are in the same year that Yuna and her guardians ended Sin's reign over our world._**

**__**

  _Can they see us? _I asked curiously, taking a step towards the small group. 

  **_No,_** Sophia answered.

  Guardian was getting worked up. I could feel his frustration, anger, and a bit of despair. **_I don't want to be here. . _**he growled.

  _What's wrong? _I asked, startled at his unusual behavior. He didn't answer. 

  "You're sure that this is the spot?" Auron asked Braska's wife. She nodded. 

  "Can you see the pyreflies concentrating around that particular area of the sea?" she asked, pointing towards the waves. Auron nodded. "That is where the temple lies." 

  Guardian hissed slowly. **_Temple. . . more like prison! _**

****

  "Well? Are we goin' er what?" Jecht asked. "C'mon!" 

  Braska's wife took a step forward and shattered into a rain of pyreflies that zipped down into the water quickly. 

  _Wow! _I exclaimed.

  Guardian barked out a derisive laugh. **_Wow she says.._** he said to himself amusedly.**_ Don't envy them because of that,_** he muttered to me.**_ You have to die to be able to do that, and it's not a pleasant experience, believe me. _**

****

  Auron followed her, with Jecht not far behind. Braska strayed for a moment, watching the pyreflies dancing innocently above the rippling waves, swirling their little tails here and there. He seemed reluctant. 

  His wife appeared beside him again. She wrapped her arms around one of his and looked deep into his eyes. "What bothers you?" she asked, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. 

  He sighed. "Is this right? Should we really go through with this? It seems to me that it could only bring more grief," he said. 

  "I've given this much thought," his wife said. "I wouldn't have asked you, Auron, and Jecht to do it if I didn't believe in this." 

  Braska smiled at her and ran his fingers through her hair playfully. "Alright, alright, you convinced me. Let's go." 

  The two seemed to concentrate for a moment, and then shimmered into the beautiful signs of life and death that made their visible forms. 

~*~*~*~

  I cried out as we were suddenly thrown into a different area, dark and sullen, with foreboding statues of gargoyle-like dragons seeming to watch us with shining ruby eyes. 

  **_Why have you brought me back here? _**Guardian raged. 

  **_I've done nothing,_** Sophia said calmly. 

  **_You're playing with me, just like that sorry excuse for an aeon, Bahamut! _**Guardian roared, his voice booming through my head.

  _Calm down! _I said, trying to comfort the frenzied aeon. 

  **_You're speaking out of your mind, boy. I am not 'playing' with you; I'm trying to help you!_** Sophia said sounding annoyed. 

  Guardian wouldn't hear it. **_Help me how? By showing me what I've tried to forget? _**he asked skeptically. 

  We had begun moving towards the temple entrance, which was barred shut, and for a moment I forgot that Guardian and I were only there spiritually. He gave a pained whimper inside of me as we drifted through the door and down a hall, scratched and scathed with strange markings and littered with tiny rocks. Some of the scratchings on the walls were recognizable words, and a few seemed to be names, but I caught only one correctly as we passed. 

  _Yuna? _

  We had come to another doorway, carved in an image greatly resembling Guardian. We passed through the door and came to a small, raised glass circle, and a statue of Guardian standing with the great blue sword in his hands.

  _That sword looks just like the real thing! _I said, watching the water in it slosh around. 

  **_That's because it is, _**Guardian growled. He separated from my body for a moment and stomped over to the statue. He snorted in its face heatedly and looked it square in it's diamond eyes. **_Why don't you get up and do something about it? _**he asked the statue, bringing back a fist and trying to throw it at the image. **_Why don't you find some way to fix it? _**Guardian slumped to the floor and looked at his claws sorrowfully. **_It's time to wake up,_** he muttered, and retracted himself into me. 

  "Are you ready?" Auron asked, turning to Lord Braska. 

  The Grand Summoner nodded. "Only if you and Sophia are." 

  _Sophia? _I asked, alarmed. 

  "I've been ready for a while," the blonde haired woman said, spreading her arms wide. "Summon his fayth." 

  _But. . isn't Lord Braska dead? How could he summon? _I asked.

  **_No one ever said you had to be alive to call a fayth,_** Sophia said. 

  Braska bent down onto his knees and folded his hands. The glass circle began to glow slightly, and the image of a man appeared above it. 

  _That's you, isn't it Guardian? _

Guardian snorted. **_Yeah, that's me. _**

****

  The man seemed to be a teenager almost into adulthood. He had slightly spiked blonde hair, the same color as Guardian's skin and my own hair, and he had the same blue eyes as the both of us, only a bit more depressed. 

  **_You. . you said that Yuna was here? _**Guardian asked Sophia. 

  **_Yes,_** Sophia answered.

  Guardian sighed. **_I don't know whether to be relieved or not._**

****

****I was confused. Everyone knew something that I didn't. _What does Yuna have to do with this? _I asked.

  **_Do you remember, _**Guardian asked, **_the story of Yuna's pilgrimage? _**

****

****_How could I forget? _

  Guardian smiled. **_How well? _**

****

****My confusion grew. _Almost down to the last word, why?_

Guardian laughed and said, **_Describe for me Yuna's lost Guardian, the one who claimed he was from Zanarkand! _**

****

~*~*~*~

  **_Uhm.. you should know who Guardian-san is now. Uh huh. Yup.. big clue there. _****_^_~ Is anybody else excited about the FFX sequels? Two of them! I can't wait!_**


	21. The Fate of a Hero

**Ever just the same, **

**Ever a surprise,**

**Ever as before, ever just as sure**

**As the sun will rise.**

**Tale as old as time,**

**Tune as old as song,**

**Bittersweet and strange,**

**Finding you can change, learning you were wrong.**

**Certain as the sun, **

**Rising in the east,**

**Tale as old as time,**

**Song as old as rhyme, **

**Beauty and the Beast.**

**         ~Beauty and the Beast**

**(I do not own this song or any of the others featured in this fan fiction.)**

****

**Chapter Twenty-One: The Fate of a Hero**

****

  Guardian moaned once and shrouded himself in a veil so that even I couldn't see into his thoughts. He retreated to the darkest part of my mind and left me empty and confused. 

  _Guardian, please don't leave me alone,_ I begged him.

  **_Leave me,_** he breathed threateningly. I reluctantly pulled myself away from him and back to the shimmering dream that had unveiled so much. 

  Guardian's fayth looked around the room in surprise, and then he smiled. "So it wasn't all just a fantasy," he said, sounding relieved. 

  Sophia stepped towards the fayth. "I have a proposition for you, Tidus," she said determinedly. 

  Guardian's fayth looked at her curiously, "Who're you?" 

  "I," Sophia stated, "am Yuna's mother." 

  _You're Yuna's mother? _

  "You're Yuna's mother?" 

  My spirit's voice and the fayth's own voice mingled as we echoed each other, surprise clearly evident in the stale air of the temple room. 

  "Yes," Sophia said, bowing her head slightly. 

  "It's nice to meet you," Tidus said politely. "What were you saying about a proposition?" 

  Sophia arched an eyebrow at him. "Well you're quite down to earth, aren't you?" she said. She turned her back to him and said, "I want my daughter to be happy, and you are the person who will make her happy." She ran her fingers through her blonde hair and said, "I am going to give you a way to go back to her." 

  Tidus looked interested. "How do you expect to do that?" he asked skeptically.

  She gave her husband a nudge towards the circle the housed Guardian's soul. "Braska will summon you, of course, and then you shall go back to her." 

  "Easier said than done!" Tidus exclaimed. "I'm an aeon, and there are way too many things wrong with that idea." 

  "I'm not done!" Sophia said, glaring at him. "After your summoning you shall, of course, be the full-blown Guardian Dragon that is your aeon body. In that body you must bide your time, eighteen to twenty years at least, and then go to Besaid." She turned to Auron, Jecht, and Braska. "During that time three fayths will be made. They will be Auron, Jecht, and myself." 

  Tidus turned to Auron and Jecht. "Are you sure about this?" 

  Jecht grinned at him and said, "Don't you worry about it! We have everything under control!" 

  "After such, Auron and I will return to the physical world to help you along the way. Jecht will stay close by us at all times, ready to help if need be," Sophia said, crossing her arms and smiling proudly. "I will complete the last leg of your journey for you." 

  "Hmm?" Tidus wondered.

  Sophia put her hands behind her back and said, "Oh, that doesn't concern you at the moment." 

  "Whatever you say," Tidus said, still sounding skeptic at the imposed simplicity of the idea.

  "Are we about ready?" Auron asked, sounding a bit impatient. 

  Sophia smiled and nodded towards her husband. "Yes, I think we're about ready." 

  "I still don't think that this'll work," Tidus said, moving his blue eyes towards the domed ceiling of his temple. "It's way too simple.." 

  "No one assured that there'd be no problems," Sophia said. She turned her back on the fayth. "Do you agree, o fayth, to become to aeon of Summoner Braska?" 

  "I do," Tidus said. 

  Sophia smiled and watched as her husband bent down. "Then let the summoning begin." 

  Braska made the shape of a circle with his hands and bowed to Tidus, who closed his eyes and seemed to be concentrating. The Summoner's knees bent towards the ground and he reached behind him and gripped his staff tightly in one hand, bringing it in front of him and standing tall. Tidus' image shimmered out of view and the domed statue began to glow, getting brighter every second until the light seemed to flow through the entire room via small lines that traced the perimeter of it, each of them ending at the gigantic statue in the back. The statue's diamond eyes glittered and then began to soften, retaining the beautiful blue that was Guardian's eyes. The stone of the statue softened and became transparent, looking like a heavenly sort of water as the glow pumped through it. The strange liquid drained off of Guardian's golden body. The sword flashed as he stretched and yawned, as if waking up from an extra long sleep. 

  Sophia walked up to the great dragon and patted his leg. He bent down to her as far as he could and looked her straight in the eye. "Go," she said. "Go and prepare yourself, Aeon, and be in Besaid in twenty years." She placed her palm on his muzzle and turned her face towards Auron. "One of us will be there for you when you get there." Guardian nodded and rumbled his reply with an agreeing growl.  

  Auron held up his sword at Guardian as the great beast broke off into the storm of pyreflies that made up his physical form. "Good luck," he muttered, drawing back the gigantic blade. 

~*~*~*~

  Darkness descended on my vision like a cloud, and Guardian sighed as if getting an enormous burden off of his back. **_I'm sorry,_** he muttered.

  _It's all right, _I said, unable to be angry with him.

  **_The past can be hard,_** Sophia's spirit voice murmured, **_but the dream hasn't ended yet._**

**__**

  _What d'you mean? _I asked. 

  **_We're going to a later time,_** Sophia said. 

  The darkness seemed to break away, revealing a churning ocean below us and a very familiar dragon-shaped vessel being tossed by gigantic waves that threatened to rip the ship apart with their force. Crusaders and sailors ran about the deck trying to keep the ship afloat as the wind tore at the sails and whistled through their ears, obscuring their hearing.

  Ryuu's arrogant voice was barely heard over the gale as belted out orders to his soldiers. "You, Oryon, or whatever your name is, get to the lookout. The captain says that a hurricane may be headed our way. Give out the warning if you see even the beginnings of one!" 

  A younger, less-experienced looking Oryon saluted his superior and hustled to do as he was told. He seemed proud to have even been addressed by Ryuu. I chuckled this observation to Guardian and he laughed. **_Something that'll soon change, eh? Oryon's thirty times the soldier that twit will ever be. _**

****

  The rain pelted down on Oryon and a shiver ran up his spine, but he kept his brown eyes focused on the sea. He blinked as water clouded his vision and brought a hand up to wipe the persistent droplets out of his eyes. He jumped and let his hand fall dumbly to his side as a golden glimmer trailed under the other side of the ship, a golden glimmer that happened to be over a hundred feet long. The glimmer stopped as it reached his side of the ship, and a familiar face lifted itself out of the water and stared at Oryon, who's jaw had fallen. A cerulean eye winked and the beast flicked its gigantic tail at Oryon, who took a step back. **_I knew this scene looked familiar, _**Guardian chuckled. 

  "Fiend! Fiend!" Oryon shouted, though his calls were lost to the frantic men who were trying to keep the ship in one piece. "Fiend!" he tried again, raising his voice a few notches. He received no reply. 

  Guardian raised himself out of the water until he was standing on it, his feet staying on the ocean's surface as if he weighed no more than a feather, and he crossed his great arms and observed the scene below him, as if deciding what he should do. "Fiend!" Oryon tried once again, though the warning was hardly necessary as every man on the deck had turned to face the gigantic golden dragon, most of them unsure how to react to his appearance. 

  Guardian bent down until he was at eye level with the men on the ship, and one of them whimpered helplessly as he lifted the ship out of the water and into his claws as if the _Draconis _were just a simple twig lying on any path. He lifted the ship above him to check the bottom of it and then returned it to where he was looking directly at the men. "Who's in charge here?" he asked. The men pointed towards the captain of the ship, who shrunk away and glared at the sailors and Crusaders that pointed the accusing fingers. Guardian turned his eyes to the captain. "Where is this ship headed?" he asked. 

  The captain swallowed and answered weakly, "Luca." 

  Guardian blinked. "Speak louder, man, I can't hear you over this storm."

  "LUCA!" the captain shouted, his voice cracking. 

  Guardian nodded approvingly. "Much better." He patted the ship and said, "There's a hurricane headed this way, and it's a big one. If it reached here you'd all be dead. Lucky I came along." He pulled his arm back and said, "I'll give you a one-way trip to Luca, but you must never speak of my presence in this ocean." Every man on the deck nodded dumbly. "Alright then," Guardian said, smiling with his lethal-looking teeth. "Safe trip!" He threw the ship towards the sky and closed his eyes, opening them again a second later to watch the ship disappear. A thousand miles away he knew that the ship would be dropped near Luca's harbors, and he grinned to himself as he imagined the shocked look on their faces. 

  Guardian looked back at the stormy sky and murmured, "Good seein' you again, Auron." 

~*~*~*~


	22. The City of Lost Dreams

Bah. FF.net's been down for too long. :L I've started another fic in its absence, but I can't abandon MoW. ^_^ It's almost over, and I plan to have it finished by the end of the summer. Oh, and if you haven't gone and seen Lilo and Stitch yet, do it. Do it now! You'll be missing out if you don't. ^_~ 'Course I have a thing for cute little blue guys.

****

**Chapter Twenty-Two: The City of Lost Dreams**

****

  The vision began to fade, and I was suddenly aware of my physical self. Droplets of rain were spattering against my skin repeatedly and cold stone was under my back. I was finally aware of the pain that was the result of the battle between Guardian and Bahamut. I winced as I sat up, blinking to clear my blurred vision. 

  I realized that we were back in the destroyed Zanarkand, but everything didn't look as old and decayed as it had before. It looked as though it had been torn apart only recently. _Guardian? _I asked uncertainly. 

  **_I'm here, _**the dragon grunted. **_A bit disgruntled, but I'm here. _**I felt my head swerve around involuntarily. **_Something doesn't feel right about this place. _**My body shivered. **_It's like I've been ripped in two. _**He hesitated and let me take control of my body again. **_This is Zanarkand.. but it seems.. younger.._**

****

****_That's what I thought,_ I told him, running my fingers through my soaked hair. The rain continued unceasingly, soaking me through to the bone. I shuddered from the cold and stumbled under what looked to be a broken roof, formed into an almost perfect triangle by the circumstances. The rain belted against my temporary shield noisily. _Sophia said that everyone else was here too, right? _I asked Guardian after a long period of silence. 

  **_I think so,_** Guardian said. We didn't speak after that. He seemed to be respecting the fact that my mind still needed to digest everything that Sophia's dream-vision had told me. I knew now why Guardian had never seemed to be just an aeon. He was a man stuck in a dragon's body, yearning for what he could no longer have. I sympathized with him, but my mind was jumbled by the whole situation. If Guardian was Tidus, what did that make me? Who was I, exactly? What had I been before becoming Destiny? 

  "I'm tired of this!" I yelled, surprising myself. I hung my head. _When will you tell me, Guardian, who I am? _I asked the dragon plaintively. _I have to know. I'm sick of all of this._

  Guardian hesitated. **_I've told you before,_** he said, **_you are me, and I am you. We are not two separate people, Destiny. _**

****

****I was silent for a moment, pondering what this meant. Was I Tidus too? _That can't be right.._ I muttered in my head. What if I was simply a dream, just as Guardian's self that had appeared on Spira twenty years ago? Was I just some vessel to be used at Guardian's whim? Was my only purpose to return him to what he'd been before? 

  **_Don't think like that, Destiny. You're as real as anyone else, _**Guardian said reproachfully. The rain had begun to die down, decreasing to only a small drizzle. **_When it stops raining we should go and look for everyone else. _**

  I nodded my head to show that I understood. I sat with my knees pulled up to my chin and my arms around my legs, watching the rain fall and the gray clouds pass over my head. It was about a half an hour before the drizzle died down completely, and then I stood, stepping out from beneath the fallen roof and welcoming the sun that had begun to peak out from behind the clouds. **_Well,_** Guardian said, **_we should start looking. Zanarkand's a big place, you know. _**

****

****_Right,_ I said. Zanarkand was slightly frightening, with the millions of pyreflies that flew lazily around. Pyreflies were a sign of death more than a sign of life. I shuddered and began calling out for my companions. "Ruka! Sanya!" I called. "Oryon! Yuna! Wakka!" I started down an apparently clear path. "Lulu! Rikku! Kimahri!" I hadn't realized how big Zanarkand was during our dream. "Taira! Kiro!" I called. No answer. I sighed.  _I think we've got a long search ahead of us, Guardian._

~*~*~*~

  "Oryon! Yuna! Wakka!" I called unenthusiastically. We'd been searching for what seemed like forever. 

  "Destiny?" 

  I started. "Oryon?" I called again, hoping that I'd truly heard his voice. Sure enough, a moment later the Crusader came around a rather large piece of a skyscraper. "Oryon!" I cried happily.****He smiled and came towards me. I felt like hugging him, but held myself back. "Where's everybody else?" I asked him as he approached. 

  He shrugged. "I was hoping you could tell me," he said. 

  I sighed. "Well, at least I found you."

  The sky was darkening and the sun had begun to sink in the horizon. **_We'll be lucky if we find anyone else before night,_** Guardian commented. 

  "I know," I said out loud accidentally. Oryon smiled. 

  
  "Talking to the Dragon?" he asked. 

  **_There's no use hiding it now, Destiny,_** Guardian said grumpily. **_We put on quite a show in New Zanarkand._**

****

  "Yes," I replied to Oryon. 

  Oryon leaned against a section of a building. "Does he talk often?" 

  I laughed. "Yeah." 

  We talked for a while longer, and I explained everything to Oryon. The man nodded. "I knew I recognized that beast. So he was the 'fiend' I saw two years ago?" 

  "Yeah," I said. "That's Guardian." 

  Oryon looked into the sky, his eyes seemingly far away from his body. "I know exactly what you're going through," he muttered. "**He** speaks to me too." 

  "He?" I asked. 

  Oryon nodded. "Auron, the Lion, whatever you want to call him. I don't know if he speaks as often as the Dragon does, but he does." Oryon stopped and sighed. "He's been with me for a year now. He told me to stay near you when I first met you." He chuckled half-heartedly. "He told me to keep Ryuu away from you. To protect you as if you were my summoner, and I your guardian." He smiled. "Not that you needed it, eh?" 

  I smiled reassuringly and took his hand. "It was nice having you along for the ride anyways, and I thank you," I said. "You've been a good friend." We both turned our eyes to the sky and the stars that had begun to dot it. The pyreflies danced around us, seeming to welcome the darkness. They glew in the dim light and their colors made Zanarkand seem almost inviting. They were a sign of life and a sign of death, they were what made up the world, they were our memories. I wondered silently whether or not a pack of pyreflies existed somewhere that held all of my lost memories. I smiled determinedly. I would get them back someday, I promised myself this.

~*~*~*~

  The clanking of metal awoke me that night, disturbing my surprisingly good dreams. I surveyed the ruined landscape, looking first at Oryon, who slept on, and then at the many mangled buildings, roads, and machines. "Yuna? Wakka? Rikku?" I called. "Taira? Kiro? Sanya?" No answer. "Ruka? Kimahri? Nathan?" Muffled footsteps could be heard not far away. "Who's there?" I asked. 

  **_It has to be one of them.. _** Guardian muttered. **_I don't know what kind of a Zanarkand we're in, but not many people make the trip here._**

****

****I stood up silently and peered through the darkness. "Hello?" I asked. I could swear that I could hear whispering, but it was very faint. I began tiptoeing in the direction that it was coming from. 

  Guardian snorted. **_It's probably just Ruka and Sanya playing some sort of dumb joke on us._**

****

****I leaned over the edge of a jagged metal structure, searching for the source of the noise.   
  
  "Gotcha!" 

  I gasped as a hand closed over my mouth and forced my body upright. _Guardian!_

The dragon hissed inside of my head and began trying to summon himself. He was silent for a few moments, and then he cried out in pain. **_What is this? _**

  I was forced around and found myself looking into the eyes of a man. He had tousled brown hair and bags under his eyes. He looked like a young man who'd aged incredibly in a short time. He was wearing a white jacket, signifying that he was a scientist of some sort. He looked me over. "You don't look like a summoner," he growled. "Who are you?" He edged his hand off of my mouth enough for me to speak. 

  _What do I do, Guardian? _I asked. Images flashed through my head faster than I could take hold of them. _Guardian? _

  A roar reverberated through my mind. **_It can't be! _**He roared again. 

  _Guardian! _I cried.

  The man had grown tired of waiting for my answer. "Well, if you won't talk then I have no choice but to take you down below. I'll let the chief decide what to do with you." 

  **_Not there.._**

****

  The man dragged me to a section of Zanarkand I hadn't noticed before, one where the pyreflies gathered in large packs, twirling around us and emitting their soft noises. _Do you know where we're going, Guardian? _I asked him softly.

  Guardian sighed. **_Hell, as far as I'm concerned._**

****

~*~*~*~  


	23. Guardian's Gift

Oy. ^_^; I feel soo bad. I know I've been slacking on this, but I've been suffering some MAJOR FFX writer's block. Everything else flows like water, but FFX just seems to get stuck somewhere in the back of my head. I know exactly how I want to finish this, but there are a few things that I could do with the ending. The next chapter MAY be the last one, if I handle this 'un right. I plan on doing an epilogue too, though, so.. ^_^ 

****

Chapter Twenty-Three: Guardian's Gift 

  The man dug through the debris of the spot he'd lead us to, searching for something. I heard a small beeping sound as he drew his hand away and got a small glimpse of a glowing red panel. He hauled me backwards roughly as the beeping continued and swiftly grew louder. I winced as my sore, bleeding feet were injured further by the sharp edges of random pieces of scrap metal that protruded from the rubble piles. Guardian cursed the man profusely. 

  The rubble surrounding the panel began to slide backwards as two enormous metal doors began to rise upward, making a smooth sound and gleaming in the moonlight. 

  **_Fight him!_** Guardian ordered. **_Resist! I won't go there again!_**

****

  I struggled, but that man's grip was too sure. 

  **_Bite him!_** Guardian roared.

  I did as I was told and sunk my teeth into the man's hand. He yelped, but didn't let me go. _What now? _I asked Guardian. Guardian growled, but said nothing. He was feeling helpless, and that feeling was slowly eating away at me as well.

  The man began to drag us down through the doorway and to a staircase that spiraled downwards into the darkness. Guardian hissed as the man descended the steps with me in his hold. **_He would be dead now if I could be summoned here,_** Guardian stated in a furious growling tone. I wasn't quite sure whether he was talking to me or not and stayed quiet. 

  When we reached the end of the staircase we were confronted with yet another door and another strange panel. He placed his hand on the panel and it flashed for a moment, then the door slid open. Identity confirmed. A mechanical voice stated. The man smiled down at me. 

  "We'll see what to do about you," he said, shoving me inside. He looked down at his hand, where my bite marks were still clear a trickle of blood oozed. "I wouldn't mind if the chief fed you to the fiends, though. Not a bit," he remarked, glancing at me with his tired, bloodshot eyes. 

~*~*~*~

  The chief was a young man with brown hair and intelligent gray eyes, who surveyed me with a thoughtful expression on his face as the man who'd captured me led me in. "Who have we here?" he asked. 

  The man swallowed. He hadn't thought about asking me exactly who I was. "I don't know, sir," he replied, keeping his eyes downcast.

  The chief sighed and turned to me. "What is your name?" he asked. 

  _What do I do? _I asked Guardian. 

  Guardian sighed. **_Tell him the truth. No one knows who you are here anyways,_** he said. His voice had begun to sound tired and faint. 

  _Guardian? _I asked him, worried that he should be sounding so different. 

  **_Don't worry about me,_** Guardian muttered. **_Just do what I told you._**

****

****The chief was patient, but his eyes were raised suspiciously. "If you're thinking about lying to me, that would be unwise," he said.

  I grimaced. "My name is Destiny," I said to him truthfully. 

  "Alright," the chief said. "Now tell me what your reasons for being in Zanarkand are."

  Once again I questioned Guardian. **_Don't tell him everything, but don't lie, either. There are lie detectors all over this room, and they'll scream like nothing you've ever heard before if you even tell the smallest fib._**

****

****_Lie detectors? They have things like that? _

  **_Here they do,_** Guardian said. **_This is only about a decade after Sin's first attack. Technology hasn't faded away yet. There are still radical groups like these scientists who think they can beat Sin with their machines and inventions. _**He sighed deeply. **_They have the same goal that I always have. They want the summoners to live. The only difference is that they don't care how many other people they have to hurt to get there. _**His voicebegan to regain its luster and fury. **_That difference is what sets those scum and people like me so far apart. _**

****

****"We're here by accident," I answered the chief, feeling that he'd waited long enough. "We didn't mean to come here." 

  The chief stopped, seeming to listen for something. When no sound came to his ears, he continued. "Are you a summoner?" 

  My heart stopped beating for a second as his question sunk into my mind. I couldn't lie and say no, because in a way I was a summoner. But I surely couldn't tell him about Guardian, not when Guardian seemed to loathe this place so much. "I am a summoner," I answered him, looking away. Guardian was beginning to feel apprehensive as well. 

  The chief listened again, and again no sound came. "Excellent," he murmured. He looked at the man that had brought me in. "Take her to the testing room. She may be the one we need to end this experiment, and if she passes the test, take her to Guardian and let them get to know each other."  

  His last statement shocked me, but not as much as it should have. _This is where they changed you, isn't it? _

Guardian sighed. **_Yes,_** he answered, **_I was arrested and handed over to these people. They were only too glad to have another living test subject. _**He moaned. **_I'll never forget the pain of transforming into an aeon.  _**He growled out his next comment harshly. **_Or the pain of knowing that my summoner died in vain without my protection. _**

****

****_You had another summoner before Yuna? _

Guardian made a small, helpless sound. **_Yes. Her name was Lara. We were in love, _**his voice cracked, **_that's why I saved her with the machina. I had no other choice. I was caught up in the feeling, and I didn't really care what happened to me. _**

****

****I smiled. _That's what makes you you, Guardian. _

  The man had led us to a strange room. It was large and very open, with a small glass window and seats off to the left of the door. The man led me into the middle and ordered me to stay where I was. I obeyed, though I was very skeptical. It seemed very strange. _What kind of tests do they do here? _ I wondered to my aeon. 

  Guardian turned my head and surveyed the room. **_I remember this room, but for all I know it was never used. I'm not sure what they do in here. _** 

  The man had entered the room behind the window, and he pulled out a wooden board with some papers attached to it. A low buzz echoed through the barren room, and part of the wall at the far end slid open. I peered into the darkness curiously, wondering what exactly was going on. Soft grunts were coming from the opening. "BEGIN BATTLE IN TEN SECONDS!"

  _BATTLE? _

_  Guardian roared out in fury. ****__How could they put you in an arena? You're unarmed! His roar dissolved into a growl, and he seemed to contemplate for a few of the ten seconds. ****__Alright, Destiny. You're going to have to do this. I'll help you as much as I can, but as long as you can't summon me the extent of my help is limited. He sighed. ****__I was hoping to work you into the hard battling slowly, but I guess now's as good as any time. He stopped, and I visualized his toothy grin. ****__Maybe I CAN help you. _

****

****Large, ponderous footsteps sounded as the monster stepped into view. It was a giant, huge and purple, with a red mane and two curled black horns extending from its head. It took one slow step after another towards me, flexing its violet fingers until the ebony claws were nearly digging into the fur and flesh of its palms. Its breathing was slow, but not unhealthy sounding. **_A behemoth, _**Guardian told me, knowing the question I was about to ask. He told me, **_This one is pretty tough, but you'll be able to pull it off. _**His voice obtained a mischievous tone. **_Reach behind you, Destiny.  _**I did as I was told, seeming foolish as the behemoth slowly advanced, it's carnivorous teeth dripping saliva. **_Now cup your fingers, as if you were holding something between them. _**Again, I did so, and was startled to find my fingers closing around something. 

  I pulled the object into my line of vision, and was very surprised with what I saw. _This is your sword, Guardian! _

_  Guardian flashed me his smile again, the one I had begun to know and love. ****__That, Destiny, is my gift to you. _


	24. A Warrior's Last Stand

**_When you walk away_**
    
    **_You don't hear me say,_**
    
    **_"Please, oh baby_**
    
    **_Don't go."_**
    
    ****
    
    **_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_**
    
    **_It's hard to let it go_**
    
    ****
    
    **_Hold me_**
    
    **_Whatever words we yelled this morning_**
    
    **_It's a little late and old_**
    
    **_Regardless of warnings_**
    
    **_The future doesn't scare me at all_**
    
    **_Nothing's like before_**

**__**

**                _~Utada Hikaru, Simple and Clean_**

****

****

**Chapter Twenty-Four: A Warrior's Last Stand **

****

  The behemoth's lips curved into a snarl as a rumble came from the back of his throat. A long string of drool hung down from his mouth. I tensed my grip on the magnificent sword's handle. Guardian seemed to be holding his breath. The behemoth lowered himself onto his large purple paws, his growl growing with each small movement. The fur on its back stood erect in the anticipation of its dinner. 

  I quickly decided that I didn't want to be its dinner. 

  He pounced at me, his movements like a cat's, fluid and controlled. I ducked the best I could, almost on impulse, and rolled, missing the beast's flailing claws by centimeters. I took the opportunity to try out the sword, and found myself doing nothing but slapping the beast's back with the flat end of the blade. The sword was heavy and awkward; I wasn't accustomed to it. It had been difficult just trying to roll with weighty thing still in my grasp. 

  The behemoth lifted himself heavily to his feet, seeming angrier for having received that slap. I grimaced and brought the sword out in front of me again, point facing the fiend, and gritted my teeth. 

  **_Stand your ground, Destiny, you'll get used to the sword._** He grinned. **_The first few minutes are always a shocker. _**

****

****I succeeded in jabbing the sword's point into the behemoth's forehead as he charged me again, causing him to back away with a howl of pain. Blood seeped down from the mark, going into his eyes and sending him into a frenzy. His monstrous hisses and howls filled the room. He threw himself at me, and he managed to dig his claws into my flesh as I tried to dodge. He seemed to snicker as I cried out in pain. I lashed out with the sword desperately, trying to get him to release his grip. I heard a satisfying howl as my blade touched furry flesh and I pulled away. I turned to see where I'd struck the beast, and was astonished by my luck.

  The behemoth had fallen to the ground. He seemed to be choking. His breath came in quick, sputtering gasps, and one look could tell me why. I had slit his throat. My wound forgotten, I watched as the behemoth faded into pyreflies. They drifted away, floating through the ceiling of the room as if it didn't exist. 

  As the pyreflies faded away the pain of my wound came back, and it hit me hard. I fell to my knees, all of a sudden feeling weak and faint. I heard, sort of, Guardian's voice calling out to me, but it seemed far away, and I didn't really want to listen. I didn't know how much blood I'd lost from that behemoth's blow. **_Destiny!_** Guardian's voice tried to reach me, but I was beyond listening to him. I sunk to the floor with a sigh, and knew no more. 

~*~*~*~

  "She's lucky to have even survived. It's obvious that is she IS a summoner, she's not a very good one." 

  "On the contrary, Matthias, she summoned that sword, didn't she?" 

  "She didn't exactly _summon_ it-"

  "So she's been hiding it up her shirt this whole time?" 

  "Well.." 

  "She may be the one we've been waiting for, Matthias, think about it! She's able to conjure weapons to her aid. I've never seen anything like it!"

  I knew, however vaguely, that they were talking about me, whoever they were. My vision was blurred by a blinding light, and I could barely see their forms. I moaned. My shoulder was throbbing painfully. The scientists kept on talking, neither of them noticing that I'd awakened. 

  "I have a good feeling about this, Matthias," one of them said confidently. He was older than the other, with graying brown hair and green eyes that sparkled with energetic life. He was tall and of average weight. His hands were clenched in anticipation.

  The younger one, who reminded me of a rat with his greasy black hair, large nose, and currently narrowed black eyes, said, "Well, we'll just see what the Guardian has to say about this." 

  I let my eyes close again. Of course. I had passed the test. They were going to take me to Guardian, none of them knowing that I was already with him. I sighed deeply. Weakness from the behemoth's strike still wore into me. 

  **_Weakness is a passing thing,_** Guardian mused sleepily. 

  I thought on this, willing myself back to sleep. _You're right, Guardian. You always are, _I murmured as I began to fade away again.

  **_You'll get that after about a millenium of life, Destiny._**

****

~*~*~*~

  **_You're so close. _**

**__**

  My eyes bolted open. I was still in the same room as before, the one with the two scientists, but they were gone now and all was dark. 

  **_You may rest soon_**_._

A small light, like one from a fire, flickered over my face. I twisted my head to the right.   
  


  Sophia sat there, a small smile on her face. Two wings spread from her back, wings with feathers of red and gold, so bright that they seemed to be on fire. She spoke to me with her true voice. "You'll meet with Guardian tomorrow, and by doing so will start a whole new chapter in your intertwined stories." 

  "It seems almost like everything's coming to an end," I whispered. 

  Sophia shook her head. "Not to an end, but to a whole new beginning. You've already done so much in so little time, Destiny. Your reward will be great." 

  She seemed to fade into the darkness, and then come back brighter than ever. Her wings spread above her head and then over her body, and pulled back to reveal a new creature, a bird that shone like the sun. 

  **_Destiny, your fate is secured by the Aeon of Eternity._**

  She looked at me with kind eyes and flapped over to my bed. She bent down to her own wing and plucked a feather from it, then laid it on my chest. 

  **_This feather will take you to anywhere and anytime you want to be. It is my gift to you and Guardian. Use it well. _**

**__**

  I tried to reach for it, but she placed a taloned claw on my arm, securing it against the bed. 

  **_Not yet, Destiny. You may think you know where you want to go, but you have no idea. Wait until you've met him tomorrow, then maybe you will make a decision that will actually do good for this God forsaken world. _**

**__**

~*~*~*~

  _Guardian?_

  I'd woken up from the doze I'd fallen into after Sophia had left and had lain there in the dark, thinking about her gift. After two hours of silent musings, a plan had begun to form itself in my mind. I had gone over the details a hundred times, and now the only thing left to do was to get Guardian's consent. 

  **_Mmmmhuhh? _**came Guardian's sleepy murmur.

  _I have an idea.._

~*~*~*~

  The two scientists from before woke me up at noon the next day and explained to me what was going to happen. I was to be taken to Guardian, and if he decided that I was suitable he would become my aeon. I nodded and played dumb. Guardian chose my words for me. 

  They gave me summoner's robes and fed me breakfast, which was neither glamorous nor very good tasting, but I was hungry. Many people watched me with apprehensive eyes, and I could finally see that what they were doing had been a desperate answer to their problem. I hadn't seen so much helplessness in one place at the same time. 

  _Guardian, can you show me Sin? _

Guardian flashed a picture in my head, and my first impression of the image was an overgrown whale. **_That overgrown whale was the bane of Spira's existence for over a thousand years, _**Guardian reminded me. 

  _Until you came to show them the right way, _I reminded him in turn. _You're the reason there's no helplessness in the eyes of Spirans in our time. _

I felt Guardian's warm smile. **_It takes only a small pebble to disrupt the sea, _**he said sagely. 

  _I hope you're right, _I murmured to my Guardian as I dropped my fork on my plate. 

  It was time to shape the future of more lives than my own. 

~*~*~

**_  Next week: The grand finale, and the epilogue if I can. I hope all of you have enjoyed MoW as much as I've enjoyed writing it. ^.^ My next project will be a Sonic the Hedgehog fic. _**

****

**_  In other news: Have you all seen that poster of Yuna? . I'm hoping it isn't real, because I, being female, would not like to see Yuna turned into some copy of Tomb Raider. Guns and Yuna is like pancakes and Pepsi. ^_^; *Don't mind my strange analogies* _**

****

**_  On the other hand, one of the female characters looks like she's holding the Brotherhood, and I'll buy the game nevertheless, me being a fanatic.  _**

  **__**


	25. Our Destiny

**_A little late, but here it is. This is the finale for MoW. I'll have an epilogue up soon. ^.^ This is a looong chapter by my standards. ^.^; I didn't know it would take up so much space. _**

****

Chapter Twenty-Five: Our Destiny 

****

  We were back above ground, staring out to the sea, where I knew Guardian's temple lay in wait. I was feeling nervous. There were many ways that my plan could turn out, and not all of them were good. I grimaced as a scrap of metal dug itself into my fragile skin, and red blood billowed down on it. It felt like a bad omen to me. I winced as I was shoved along by the scientists in their haste to present me to their Guardian. I couldn't blame them, really. I had never known what it was like to live in the shadow of anything as horrible as Sin, but Yuna's story and Guardian's brief image had been enough to convince me of his power. 

  One of the scientists stopped the group and said, "This is where we leave you, Summoner Destiny." 

  I turned, surprised. "I have to go alone?" 

  The man raised an eyebrow at my reply. "Of course. It would be taboo for us to follow you into the temple." 

  "Oh," I said nervously. "O-of course!"

  **_Smooth, Destiny,_** Guardian said with a snicker. 

  Matthias, the scientist from before, began brushing aside the debris until a platform was clearly visible. "This," he said, taking my arm and leading me onto it, "will protect you from the water as you head down into the temple." He smiled and stepped back. "When I flip the switch on this remote control," and he held it up for me to see, "a glass dome with extend above your head. When I push the button again as you enter the temple the glass will retract back into the platform." He smiled genially, and I tried to return it, but I could only manage a weak sort of half-smile. I didn't want to entrust my life in a glass dome and a remote control. "Are you ready?" Matthias asked. 

  I nodded. I heard the beep as his finger pushed down on one of the many buttons on the remote control, and I grimaced as the glass dome rose slowly with a 'swoosh'. The platform rose into the air slightly and began moving towards the sea. I didn't understand how it piloted itself, and realized that I didn't really want to. I had a feeling that it had something to do with the little knobs on the remote control, and I didn't trust that little thing at all. 

  **_Stop worrying,_** Guardian said. **_We'll be fine. _**

****

****We were underwater now, and I was feeling a little better as Guardian exerted a little bit of his fearless strength into me. It felt a bit silly to be afraid of something that Guardian felt so nonchalant about. I smiled a little bit and slumped to the bottom of the platform, pulling my legs up to my chin. I watched the bubbles cascading around the glass and smiled a bit more as a fish dared to peek into the dome before swimming off quickly. 

  **_Better stand up again,_** Guardian warned. I peered over my shoulder and saw that we were descending towards the temple. I was more than a bit happy that it had been over with quickly, but the journey down hadn't been as bad as I'd thought it would be, either. 

  I bit my lip as we came near the temple entrance. I couldn't see a door anywhere, and how would that work anyways? I began to worry again, and I clenched my hands into fists as the platform headed towards the blank wall, seeming to me that it was gaining speed as it neared it. _GUARDIAN! _I screamed in my head, and it involuntarily came out of my mouth as well. I closed my eyes tight, cursing the scientists mentally as I prepared for the impact. 

  It didn't come. 

  My eyes shot open. We were inside. Guardian was laughing harder than I'd ever heard him laugh in a long time. I blushed in embarrassment as the dome seemingly dissolved into the floor of the platform. _You knew that we'd go through!_ I berated him in the most annoyed tone that I could muster. 

  **_Sorry, _**he said, still chuckling, **_but you have to admit, that was pretty funny! _**

  I smiled to let him know that there were no hard feelings. He sent me an image of his own giddy grin back. It felt good to know that he had that grin. It made me worry a little less about what we were going to try and do. 

  I turned my attention to the temple itself. It was dark, but I could tell that we were in a very large room. Blue flames flickered inside of strange orbs sat on pedestals in front of what looked like a large hallway, but they weren't nearly enough to provide the room with adequate light. Strange statues decorated the room, some of them looking quite frightening. I took a cautious step towards one. It looked like a bird, but it wasn't like any I'd ever seen. Its eyes were emeralds embedded in beautifully sculpted marble that took the shape of a fearsome eagle-head with a wickedly curved beak. I looked down and realized that the eagle influence ended not far below there. Its body was obviously not an eagle's, with its large paws and tufted tail. 

  **_That is a gryphon,_** Guardian informed me. **_As I understand he was one of the earlier 'Guardian' projects. _**

****

****I stepped back in surprise. _What did they do to him? _

_  **It's obvious, isn't it? **_Guardian said with a scowl. **_They knew that they had failed, and so they locked their project away, stuck forever in a tomb of stone. _**

  I hurried away from the gryphon statue, swallowing as I imagined being stuck in marble for the rest of my life. Once again I realized the cruelty of the scientists. I pursed my lips. There were some things I couldn't bear to forgive, no matter how much Sin was torturing Spira at the time. My hands balled into fists and I started down the hallway that was lit by the two orbs. I didn't want to stay in the statue room any longer. 

~*~*~*~ 

  The door into Guardian's chamber towered high above me. It wasn't the same door that had been in my dream. It had Guardian's image carved into it, just like the last, but it was much larger. **_They needed a larger room for this, _**Guardian said. **_I couldn't fit into any of the others. _**

****

****_How do we get in? _I asked, pushing against the door. Guardian's face seemed to grin smugly back at me as I tried, teasing my poor efforts. I sighed and backed away, surveying the door for some sort of secret opening. How did they expect a girl my size to open that? 

  Guardian chuckled. **_Don't forget, you're also supposed to be a summoner,_** he reminded me. 

  _Why can't you come out? _I growled as I banged my fist against the door. 

  I heard a shuffling around behind the door. I froze. Guardian had heard my pounding. I quickly thanked the heavens for my luck. 

  "Who's there?" the living Guardian asked, his voice a bit monotonous. I felt my Guardian shudder. 

  "My name is Summoner Destiny," I said as loud as I could, hoping that he could hear me through the door. 

  The Guardian past the door was silent for a few moments. "Why have you come?" he bellowed.

  _What do I say? _I asked my Guardian. 

  **_Nothing but the truth,_** he said firmly. 

  The other Guardian was growing restless. "Well?" his booming voice queried. "Say what you want or get out!" 

  I flushed with indignation, but reminded myself that Guardian was going through some hard times. I suppressed any annoyance that might've leaked into me and said in the surest tone that I could muster, "I've come to set you free!" 

  There was a silence again, and then booming laughter. It continued on for a few moments, in which I simply stood, feeling very, very uncomfortable behind the door that hid the great dragon, and then it abruptly stopped. "Come to use me as a weapon against that abomination the people call 'Sin' is more like it!" he roared at me, the mirth leaving his gruff voice.

  "No!" I began. "I haven't come for that!" 

  He snorted. "Then what, Lady Summoner, have you come for?" 

  I stood firm. "I've already told you what I've come for," I said to him. "I want to set you free." 

  I heard the great dragon sigh and then another silence elapsed, in which my Guardian informed me that he was most likely thinking about my offer as the only sounds to be heard were heavy steps going back and forth behind the door. "Come inside so that I may see you," he said. The door creaked open only a tiny bit, big enough for me to squeeze through, and then it shut with a loud bang.   
  


  I found myself staring straight into one of Guardian's bright blue eyes and yelped as I realized just how big he was and how much space he took up. Had I not spent so much time with my Guardian I would've been scared half to death. If Guardian suddenly decided that I wasn't the kind of summoner he wanted to go to he would have no trouble killing me with any of the natural weapons on his extremely large, reptilian body. Lucky for me I knew that such killing wasn't in his nature. 

  He blinked slowly and began to rise from his position on the floor. "So," he said, breathing heavily, "this is the Summoner who has come to set me free." He narrowed his eyes as he peered down at me. "The question is: do I believe you?" 

  "Why shouldn't you?" I asked him. He smiled at me. 

  "Good question," he said, chuckling a little bit. "Alright then, Lady, my next question: why do you want to set me free, if not to defeat Sin?" 

  I smiled back at him, glad that his volcanic temper had receded a bit. "It's a long story," I said, "one that you're probably not gonna believe."

  "Try me," he said, grinning. 

~*~*~*~

  I had been very reluctant to agree when the living Guardian had proposed that we make a grand display of bursting above the waters together. It meant that I had to hold my breath for as long as it took to reach the top of the waters, and I wasn't looking forward to anything like that, especially after the ride down on the platform. "It'll be fine," he assured me as I hesitantly climbed onto his back. "I can swim faster than anything alive." 

  My Guardian tried to tell me that I had nothing to worry about anyways. **_You can make it underwater for more time than any normal person. I don't see why you're afraid. _**I swallowed. I'd forgotten about that. Still, the feeling deep down in my stomach wouldn't go away, and I told myself that it was probably not because of the coming journey upwards. It had been there ever since I had begun the story that would explain everything to the other Guardian. I was beginning to fear what we were to do. I wasn't sure of what was going to happen to me. 

  The Tidus Yuna had come to know and love had been the dream of a sleeping Guardian. He had vanished into thin air, right after committing one of the greatest acts of courage Spira had ever known. It takes a lot to do something that you know could kill you. I knew that now, because I was afraid that the same thing would happen to me when I brought Guardian into the future. There would be no need for a Destiny anymore. That much I understood. I had never told Guardian what Sophia had come to make me understand, even if she hadn't meant to do so. It struck me, as Guardian began to break through the roof of the temple and water began to fill the room, slowly at first, and then with great intensity. I wasn't only endangering my life by doing this, I was risking Oryon's as well.

  Oryon and the Lion were the same as Guardian and I. Vessel and soul. I felt my heart stop for a second as Guardian threw himself into the sea, trumpeting triumphantly. I didn't want the same thing that had happened to the Dream Tidus happen to Oryon and I.  

  But then again, what else was there for me to do?  

~*~*~*~

  The sky was a beautiful mural of orange, pink, and red as Guardian burst above the cold waters. Night was falling quickly. The moon seemed to shine down on us as we landed on the clearest spot we could find among the rubble and debris of Zanarkand. Guardian looked truly noble, even grinning as he was. I slid down off of his back. "When're we going to do it?" I asked as I climbed off of his tail.

  "Whenever you're ready," he said. "Take as much time as you want." He winked. "I'd like to take a nap before we get going." He stretched and yawned lazily. "You wouldn't believe how cramped that room was!" 

  I laughed and waved at him as he snuggled himself in between a torn down building and a ruined shack. "Alright, I'll be back soon."   
  


  **_Going to say goodbye? _**my Guardian asked. 

  _What?_

Guardian sent me a smug smile. **_You're not very good at hiding things from me, Destiny._**

****

****_Oh.. _I frowned. _Yes, I'm going to say goodbye to them. _

Guardian warmed me with a feeling of encouragement. **_You'll see them again soon enough. _**

****

~*~*~*~

  "DESTINY!!" 

  I winced as Ruka bowled into me, almost throwing me to the ground. "Where have you been?" she said, practically screaming into my ear. "We found Oryon and he told us that you'd just disappeared, and we've all been looking for you for almost a whole day! This place isn't _that_ big! Where did you disappear to? Why did you leave Oryon?" She stared me down as she blabbered out questions. 

  I started laughing. She looked hysterical. "How 'bout I tell you when we get everyone else here too?"   
  
  "Fine," she said. "C'mon, we're s'posed to meet over here." She grabbed one of hands and dragged me towards another, less spacious empty area in all of the wreckage. "Everyone'll be back when it's all the way dark," she informed me, plopping down on a fallen pillar and looking at me through searching eyes. "No chance that you'll tell me what was so important that you had to worry us all to death before they get back?" she questioned.

  "Nope," I said, grinning at her sheepishly. I stared up into the sky that was slowly darkening into a navy blue. "I hope they get back soon." 

~*~*~*~

  The stars had already begun to sprinkle the sky when the first came back. Oryon stormed over to me, looking like he was ready to tear my head off. I smiled apologetically as he stomped up to me, staring me down. "Where," he began in a hoarse voice, "have you been?" 

  "If it'll make that look go off your face, it wasn't my fault!" I said truthfully. He glared at me. 

  
  "Right."   
  
  I frowned. "I'm telling the truth." 

  "Start talking," he said, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against a large metal support beam. 

  "We have to wait until everyone's here," I said. 

  He smirked. "Stalling so that you can make up a believable story?" he asked.

  "Fine!" I said angrily. "I'll tell you exactly what happened." And I shot off into a description of how I'd spent my last day and a half, complete with the kidnapping, the defeat of the Behemoth, and my journey into and out of Guardian's temple. Everyone had returned by the time I had finished, and by Oryon's skeptical eyes I could tell that he wasn't buying my account. I narrowed my eyes at him as he rudely expressed what he thought of my 'lies'. Frustrated, I grabbed him by the arm and said, "Come with me, then, if you don't believe me. I'll show you!" 

~*~*~*~

  Guardian's snores reverberated against the crystalline night air, which was otherwise not broken by any other sound besides the gentle sloshing of the Zanarkand Sea against the ruined city's edges. I stomped up to him and slapped him in the side of his leg roughly to rouse him from his nap. "Get up, you big lug," I said, then turning triumphantly to Oryon and the small congregation of the others. Guardian yawned and stretched himself sleepily.

  "Are these the people you told me about?" he asked sluggishly, blinking his big blue eyes at the group.

  "Yeah," I said. I glared at Oryon. "I believe an apology is in order," I growled.

  Oryon sighed and bowed slightly. "Sorry," he grunted. I smiled.   
    
  "Good." 

  Ruka and Sanya had both trailed over to Guardian, who had risen into a sitting position. He watched them curiously as they ran a hand over his scaly flesh. Sanya giggled. "Aww, he's cute, ya?" she said. 

  Guardian looked at her indignantly and was about to protest, but someone else had caught his eye. He turned away from the giggling friends and met eyes with Yuna. "I'm guessing that you're the summoner Destiny told me about," he said. "Yuna, was it?" 

  She nodded, lost for words. He was grinning at her, showing off each one of his dangerous-looking teeth. She bowed at him respectfully and he did the same. I couldn't help but smile. I was glad that he was taking to her quickly; you could tell that he was by looking into his eyes. 

  My Guardian surveyed the scene with the same, warm feeling. **_This is a definite good omen, _**he said happily. On a more serious note, he added, **_I still think you should've told everyone about your plan. _**

****

****_What does it matter? _I asked him. _It's not like it'll make a difference once it's done anyways. Besides, they'd probably just try and stop me. _

He sighed. **_You're right. _**He was quiet for a few moments after. We both watched the group fawning over the living Guardian, Sanya and Ruka gushing, Yuna and Guardian themselves just enjoying being in each other's presence, the twins sitting on his back and laughing as he, irritated at being disturbed from his silent conversation with Yuna, attempted to buck them off of him. Nathan teased Sanya about being jealous of the dragon, Kimahri stressed over his two children, Rikku giggled, and Wakka and Lulu watched their daughter and her boyfriend through proud eyes. I blinked as I realized that Oryon was the only one not joining in the general merriment beside myself. He was staring at the ground with a very thoughtful look in his chocolate eyes. I wondered whether or not his Lion had told him about what to expect. I felt a pang of guilt that was quickly brushed aside. **_We're leaving tonight, right? _**Guardian's voice broke into my thoughts. 

  _As soon as everyone's asleep, _I said. Guardian and I acted as one to twist my head towards the scene surrounding the living Guardian. 

  **_That might not be for a while, _**he commented as the other dragon flicked a pesky Kiro off of his tail. 

~*~*~*~

  Guardian was dozing when I impatiently rapped him on his nose. The campfire the group had made had died to a small ember. He blinked sleepily and yawned as quietly as he could. "Is it time?" he rumbled in a low voice. 

  "Yeah," I whispered. I patted his nose. He bent down so that I could climb up on his back. 

  "Let's get going, then," he said, standing up as I seated myself in a comfortable position right above his two large wings. He grinned back at me and flapped them as a test, making sure that they wouldn't bother me. I stayed firmly seated. Happy with the preparations, Guardian began trundling forward at a leisurely pace. It quickly became a stride, and then a gallop. He had reached Zanarkand's boundaries. I closed my eyes, preparing for the liftoff. 

  "Destiny!"   
  
  I felt Guardian's claws dig into the ground as he tried to stop himself from falling into the ocean. His takeoff had been interrupted by Oryon's voice. 

  "I'd have thought that after today you'd learned your lesson," he said. His voice wasn't harsh, though. I knew then that he understood what I planned to do, and wondered whether or not Sophia had spoken to him as well. He sounded a bit sad. 

  "Oryon," I began, unsure of what to say. "You know that I've got to do this," I said almost pleadingly. Guardian's tail flicked back and forth as he regarded the man who had walked in front of us, blocking our way. 

  "I know," he said. 

  My hands gripped a bit tighter on Guardian's neck. "You could come with us, you know," I said hopefully. I couldn't be responsible for this. I wanted to cry. I'd be fooling myself if I said that I wasn't having second thoughts about the flight I was about to make. I was unsure about what would happen to me, but I knew for certain what would happen to Oryon. 

  The meeting at Guardian's temple would never happen in the future I was about to create. It wouldn't be needed. Auron wouldn't be reincarnated. Oryon would never be. 

  "You know I couldn't do that," he said. "Two of the same soul at the same time doesn't work well." 

  I felt a tear slide down my cheek. Oryon had become a good friend to me. "I-I can't do this to you," I said. 

  "You will!" he commanded, drawing his blade and laying it at Guardian's feet. "I've lived one life already. That's good enough for me." 

  Guardian was getting impatient. He shifted his feet restlessly. "Are we going to go?" he grumbled. I slapped him on the neck. 

  "You're going," Oryon said, standing aside. 

  Guardian nodded and began backing up to begin the takeoff again. I looked away from Oryon as we trotted past him. The guilt was unbearable. 

  I felt Guardian leap into the air. His wings began pounding madly. We were gaining altitude fast, rising higher and higher until all of Zanarkand was within sight. The scientists had seen us. They were pouring out of their underground laboratory, watching us ascend. I saw the figures at the campsite begin to rouse.   
  
  "Destiny!!" I heard Ruka call in alarm. 

  I waved down at them, hoping that they could see me and suddenly regretting my decision on whether to tell them or not. Out of my tunic I pulled a little red feather, glowing with its magical energies. _Are you ready? _I asked my Guardian. 

  His encouraging grin strengthened me. **_Let's do it! _**

****

****We were so high above the others that they were nothing but tiny dots among the mess. I nudged the living Guardian, indicating that it was time to dive. He glanced back at me and his grin mirrored the one my own Guardian had sent me. "Hold on tight!" 

  I'd never felt anything so much like the rush of falling from so high up, with naught but Guardian's large body to protect me from falling into the rolling sea below. I turned my thoughts away from the drop and to a picture that was slowly forming in my mind, one that Yuna had described to me in her retelling of the pilgrimage. I saw the waves sloshing gently against Besaid's shore, a younger Wakka and his team passing a ball back and forth on the shore. The sun was high in the sky, the sky itself a clear blue. It was a perfect image of the day Yuna had first met Tidus. Guardian echoed my image with a more correct one, clearly from his memory. I silently hoped that the Guardian I was riding had remembered what I'd told him.   
  
  The feather burst into flame and I almost dropped it. The fire spread to surround us as we dropped we were almost at the end of the dive now. I could feel Guardian pulling out of his dive. We were a red streak in the night. 

  **_You're ready?_** Sophia's voice echoed in my mind.   
  
  _Yeah. _

_  **Good,**_ she said. We were flying in a straight line towards Zanarkand. **_In approximately five seconds you will leave behind this past._**

  It must've been the longest five seconds I had ever experienced. We were right above Oryon's head when it happened. Yuna was there too, her hands clasped together. Her green and blue eyes were apprehensive. I had a sickening feeling that she knew everything. Oryon saluted us.

  And then we were gone. 

~*~*~*~

  I wobbled slightly as I stood up. There was a strange feeling of déjà vu as I once again watched the shores of Besaid through a cloud. Guardian stood beside me. "It really worked!" he said. "We're here!" 

  I looked up at him. I was feeling odd. I shuddered as an unusual feeling spread up my spine. "Ugh.." 

  _That was different, _I remarked. 

  No response. 

  _Guardian? _

No response.   
  
  I looked around in dismay. The Guardian on the side of me smiled and tapped me on the shoulder. "I'm back in here," he said. 

  "Oh," I said. I smiled weakly. I felt like I was about to faint. I blinked. "It didn't work!" I shouted in dismay. Guardian was back in his own body, but he wasn't Tidus like he was supposed to be. 

  
  Guardian looked at me in surprise. "Of course it did!" he said. 

  "But-" 

  "We're dreaming again," he said, laughing. "Why else would there be a cloud? We're not seeing right." He grinned. "I'm sure you've felt it." 

  The odd feeling twanged again. 

  "But then-" 

  He laughed heartily and grabbed me by my shoulders. "Don't you understand, girl?" He picked me up. "We couldn't even become human without you!" 

  He dropped me and I flailed around in the water for a bit, my mind taking in what he'd just told me. I smiled and leaned back, floating on the clear blue waves, staring up into the beautiful summer sky. "So now we just wait until we wake up?"

  "That's what I'm guessing," he splashed down into the water beside me. 

  "Wonder if we'll remember any of this," I mused. 

  He slapped water in my face. "Don't think so," he said. 

  "It'll be better off that way." 

  "Definitely." 

  We fell silent, and I noticed the cloud beginning to disperse. "Are you ready?" I asked him, staring into the blue eyes that so matched mine. 

  "I have been for the last thousand years or so."   
  


  I blinked in surprise as I turned to splash him and the water flew through him. He was disappearing with the cloud. I yelped as I began to do the same. 

~*~*~*~

  Blue eyes opened up, and a familiar figure shot above the waves, panting and looking around in surprise. 

  _Where am I? _he mused. A blitzball conked him on the head and he shook himself out of his daze. _Blitzball!_

He threw it into the air and executed a perfect Sphere Shot back at the players on the beach. One of them was a man with red, tidal wave fashioned red hair. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. As the man in the waves moved towards the shore he grinned. "You mind showin' us that shot again?" he asked in his accented voice. 

  The man grinned. 

  And so began the story of Yuna's pilgrimage.

~*~*~*~

**_Fly like an eagle to the sea. Fly like an eagle let your spirit carry me._**

**_I wanna fly._**

**_Fly right into the future. _**

**The End or the Beginning?**

****

_Decide for yourself. It may help you see whether you're a pessimist or an optimist. _

_To ask Destiny she would decide the beginning. _

_What about you?_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**_There you have it. I hope MoW has lived up to its expectations. I'm very proud of this end. _**

**_Expect an Epilogue soon, and maybe some clarifying Author's Notes. _**

**_Please tell me what you think of what I've done. _**

****

**_One day a twelve-year-old girl beat FFX and was shocked with the ending. It was so underdone. There had to be more! So she conceived the write her own ending. She went to fanfiction.net and found a lot of good ways to bring Tidus back, but she had to do something different. She wrote out her own beginning of the end to satisfy herself. She never meant to put it up. She expected that she'd only do one chapter. She thinks she sucks. :L   
  
If it weren't for everyone who's read this, there would be a one-chapter MoW floating around the backdrops of FF.net right now.   
So for the credits I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed, and even those who haven't. You guys are great!  
I'd also like to thank Squaresoft for creating FFX. _**

**_I LOVE YOU SQUARESOFT! _**

****

**_~*IceWolf645*~_**

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	26. Epilogue: The Perfect Eternal Calm

**__**

Epilogue time! ^.^ This'll be the second to the last update to this fic, 'cause like I said I wanna do some Author's Notes. If anyone has any questions, ask them now. 

Note: I'm having trouble with the ronso's names.. Biran and Yenke? O.o? 

This may be the end of the fic, but this most likely isn't the end of my little universe. I might put up a few little sidestories, one of them being a Tidus/Yuna (TUNA! ^_^) and another being an Oryon/???.

They won't be very long, not like this. 

Another Note: Some things in the description you hear from Yuna (sorta) are changed from the original game, especially things concerning Tidus. 

Epilogue: The Perfect Eternal Calm 

Yuna watched the trio of friends disappear behind a hut, giggling excitedly. _What're they up to now? _she asked herself, smiling as she recalled the mischief Sanya, Ruka, and her own daughter seemed to always get themselves into. A better circle of friends you would find nowhere else, but they had a knack for stirring up trouble. Her husband remarked that it made the way-too-peaceful Besaid a little livelier. Yuna agreed wholeheartedly. That was one of the reasons why their punishments were never too harsh. 

Rikku laughed as she looked towards where her cousin was staring. "You know what they're talking about, don't you?" she asked. "The Crusaders are coming. They're all silly about that new Captain." 

Yuna raised an eyebrow. "New Captain?" she asked curiously. 

Rikku nodded. "Yep. Heard about it last week. Don't know who he is, though. Heard he's pretty young, like around twenty or so," she said. 

Yuna smiled. That was good. Too many of the older people still stuck too close to the old Yevonite beliefs. It was better to have a young person with fresh new ideas. Her daughter and the other two emerged from their not-so-secret hiding place, giggling madly. Her daughter swished her long blonde hair over her shoulder, and, noticing her mother watching her, waved cheerfully. She had a bright smile, one so much like her father's. He was currently away helping to set up the Blitzball league for the year. Their daughter was to play for the Besaid Aurochs with Sanya, who was two years older than her, this year. Wakka was excited to finally be able to put her on the team. She had the natural skill and abilities of a true blitzer, another quality inherited from her father. 

Wakka was talking to the trio now. He held a blitzball in his hands, a challenging look in his eyes. Yuna giggled. He was almost like a child sometimes. He tossed the ball at Sanya, who caught it expertly and began spinning it on her index finger. She answered her father with an equally competitive look in her eyes, and soon the four of them were running off towards the path that led to the beach. 

"Aww, the kids are going to play," Rikku said teasingly as they left. 

"Most likely the girls are going to make sure that they're there when the Crusader's new ship arrives," Lulu mused, 

walking up to the two of them. "You know how they are."

"Yeah," Rikku agreed. They watched as the four 'children' disappeared. 

There was a slightly awkward silence for a few moments. It was broken by Yuna. "Why don't we go down there with them?" she asked, smiling cheerfully. "It's so nice out here today, we should be taking advantage of it!" 

"Agreed!" Rikku exclaimed happily. "Let's go!" 

Yuna laughed as Rikku ran out of the hut giddily. She hadn't changed all that much over the years. She was still the same cheerful girl as she had been during the pilgrimage. Yuna sighed as she remembered that fateful journey. No doubt the children training on the Crusader ship would wish to hear about it tonight. It was a worldwide fact that Yuna's telling of the story was by far the best. 

~*~*~*~

"It's coming!" 

Sanya's voice rang out happily above the gentle swish of the waves on the sand and the jubilant laughter of the blitzers on the beach. All heads turned towards the dock. A great ship was coming their way, shaped like a dragon. Wakka looked at it confusedly. "They painted it," he remarked. "The last time I saw that ship, the dragon parts were all black, ya?" 

"Like Bahamut?" Ruka volunteered as the great vessel neared. 

"Ya," Wakka said. "Wonder why they changed it." 

Yuna peered at the ship. Sure enough, all of the draconic parts had been painted a bright, beautiful gold. "I like it," she said. In her mind she pictured a golden dragon swimming through the waters of the sea gracefully. It was a magnificent image. 

People on the deck of the great vessel waved energetically at the small crowd on the beach. A few people who had been waiting on the dock stopped what they were doing and prepared to bring the ship in. 

"Is that him?" Sanya asked no one in particular, standing on her tiptoes, waving towards the boat. "Or is that him? Which one is it, eh?"

The girls began talking excitedly. It was a well known fact that Sanya already had a boyfriend, but that didn't keep her from going crazy over cute guys, even if the other two playfully threatened to tell Nathan about her many crushes. 

The ship had begun to come into the dock now. Yuna frowned. It was about three times as big as their tiny dock. Most likely a ship of such grandeur was used to docking in places like Luca and Zanarkand. She smiled. She and Tidus were planning on moving their small family to Zanarkand soon. They'd already chosen the house, one right next to the beaches and the sea. Yuna remembered looking out of the second-story window and watching the sun go down. Its brilliant light splashed against the waters, making the ocean seem like a never-ending bed of crystal against the pink sky. She smiled as she pictured that image. It had seemed perfect then, and she hoped it always would. 

The girls laughed as the stricken dockworkers were doused with spray from the dragon ship. Yuna searched the faces for the Crusaders she knew. 

Her eyes fell on one. He wasn't waving or anything like that, but he stood out amongst them all. He had a solemn face, with bright brown eyes that watched everything thoughtfully. He had long black hair that reached halfway down his back, tied so as to not have it blowing everywhere. A sword was strapped across his back, a katana by the look of it. He looked strong, especially for the age he appeared to be. He seemed to be only twenty or so.

But that wasn't the reason he stuck out to Yuna. 

__

Auron! she thought with surprise. _But it can't be.._

He had begun issuing orders to the Crusaders that were rushing around the ship. They saluted him and got to the various jobs that were required for a full docking. Yuna was surprised. Crusaders usually kept to themselves when departing from ships and watched the crew do the work themselves. She looked again to the man, sure now that he was the new Captain she'd heard about. She smiled. He'd done a good job with them. 

Yuna smiled and began walking towards the ship. She took notice of the beautifully painted golden letters on the side of the ship that told her that the ship's name was 'Guardian'. _Guardian, _she thought, watching the man through her blue and green eyes. _The name fits well._

~*~*~*~

The junior Crusaders sat around the campfire, eyes wide as they listened to Yuna's wonderful version of her pilgrimage. They were completely enraptured as Yuna described every last detail, save one that Yuna shared with only one other person and a guardian who said nothing about it. She smiled as she tactfully skipped past it and continued on to the Calm Lands segment of her story. The children didn't need to know about what had gone on at the spring.

Yuna hadn't gotten a chance to speak to the Captain, as he was being constantly bombarded by hopeless Crusaders and swooning females. She had learned, though, that his name was Oryon. The similarity of his name to her former guardian's was uncanny. She smiled lightly. Was it possible that he'd come back? Auron was always like that. Maybe he felt that he hadn't fulfilled his promise to her father, Lord Braska, completely. Whatever the reason, Yuna knew that she had to investigate. 

She had now reached the part of her story in which they'd been confronted by the Ronso of Mount Gagazet. They cheered as she described the battle between Kimahri, Biran, and Yenke, the battle that had defined Kimahri as a true Ronso warrior. She remembered her quiet guardian, who was now somewhere up in his mountain home with the Ronso children who called him 'Teacher'. He was an older Ronso now, his fur was fringed with white, but he still held the same dignified flare as he always had. He had two children, Taira and Kiro, whom he loved very much. They were very different from their father, being cheerful and silly, but they were both very intelligent. They'd been brought up well by Kimahri, who was a single parent since his mate Yimika had passed away when the two cubs were 

very young. 

In her tale they were now ascending the mountain, to where they would meet with Seymour Guado once again, and where she would learn that Sin wasn't exactly what she believed it to be. Everything past that revelation seemed to be a never-ending spiral of truths among the lies she'd been living for her entire life. From Yevon to Yunalesca, everything she had come to know was false. 

With the defeat of Yunalesca, everything was drawing to an end in her tale. The children held their breaths as they imagined the whole world singing the holy song that calmed the human inside of Sin. Yuna began telling of the battle with the great beast, one of the final battles that she'd ever have to take part in. 

A new face had joined the crowd, one with serious auburn eyes and a solemn expression. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against a palm that was standing a little ways away from the fire. He gazed into it, seemingly lost in his own little world, but Yuna knew that he was listening. She continued. 

Seymour again. She had reached the fight that would prove to be the Guado Maester's demise. She remembered the relief she'd felt as she'd seen him finally disappear into a shower of pyreflies, just as every living creature did at their time of death. They had then continued on, deeper into Sin. The inside of the monster grew to be a labyrinth filled with fiends and wrong turns, and at the end was a man that Yuna had once known as her father's guardian. 

The battle with Jecht was a painful one, especially for Auron, Tidus, and Yuna, who all knew him. Maybe Tidus hadn't had such a hard time, though. His memories were very scattered and mixed up from the amnesia he'd had upon arriving at Besaid. He remembered Jecht only vaguely, and not all of his memories were exactly good. 

With Jecht gone, the final chore of her pilgrimage was to destroy Yevon, and with him her aeons. Valefor, Ifrit, Ixion, Shiva, Bahamut, Yojimbo, Anima, and the three Magus Sisters, each of them fell before their former master, giving their lives to save their world. 

And then he had come. 

For a spirit that had been worshipped for over a thousand years as the would-be savior of their world, Yevon wasn't very impressive. He resembled a tick, a parasite, which was suitable because that's exactly what he was. He'd been living off of the souls of others, his 'armor', ever since the war between Zanarkand and Bevelle. It was surprising that he should be one of the creatures to fall the easiest since the beginning of their long and arduous journey. They were receiving power from another source now, and nothing the ancient false god could do would destroy any member of their team. When one of them fell, it seemed almost as if an angel would come down upon them and give them new life. 

Yevon fell, and all that was left for Yuna to do was send the shell that was Sin. The eyes of almost all of the listeners glistened with pride as they envisioned her beautiful sending dance, the pyreflies swarming around her as she twisted and turned gracefully. 

One could only imagine the group's surprise to see Auron begin to fade away, his own group of pyreflies extending from his body and swirling around his failing form. Yuna had gasped and interrupted her sending, but was soon urged on by her guardian as he walked forward. He disappeared from the reach of the others with his last words, "This is your world now."

The world seemed to come to a halt for weeks after that day. Everyone was in shock. Something that had once been believed would never come had finally done so. Sin was gone, Spira was free.

~*~*~*~

The children talked excitedly amongst themselves as they were shooed from the campfire by the adults and made to go to bed. Yuna sighed and placed her hands on her laps. It was always a bit tiring telling that story, but it seemed to be everyone's favorite. She smiled. Her daughter and her husband could make up good ones together, though. She began to doze off as she remembered a certain one that her husband had compiled, the one that had given their daughter her name. He told her it had come from a dream he'd once had. It was a story about a girl, Destiny, who had come to arrive in Besaid at around the time that they were in now. She had long, blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, and had come with complete amnesia. Yuna chuckled. The children would've loved to hear that one. She liked it herself, which is why she kept badgering her husband to make it into a book, but he, being head of the entire blitzball 

league, didn't have that much time. She smiled. He was very devoted to his job. 

She was startled out of her doze by a deep, gruff voice. "Lady Yuna?" 

She looked up from where her head had been resting on her shoulder and into the eyes of the Crusaders' new captain, Oryon. "Oh!" she said as she stood up quickly and bowed. "Captain Oryon!"

He bowed to her and smiled back. "I've been meaning to talk to you all day," he said. "Unfortunately, until now I've been a bit busy." 

"Understandable," she said politely. She motioned for him to sit down, and he did so obligingly. 

"That's some story you tell, m'lady," he said, his brown eyes reflecting the sincerity of his comment. 

She smiled gratefully. "Thank you." 

Oryon was silent for a few moments. He looked down at the ground with a sort of troubled expression on his face. 

Yuna watched him curiously. "Is there something bothering you?" she asked. 

Oryon hesitated, but nodded. "Yes," he said. "It's something I heard from your husband."

Yuna looked surprised. "You've met Tidus?" 

He nodded. "We stopped in Luca before we got here." He smiled. "A lively man, your husband." 

Yuna smiled. She could just imagine. A picture of his grinning face formulated itself in her mind as she thought of him. She asked the Crusader Captain, "What did he tell you?"

"It was.. just a story, but I can't help but be a little bit bothered about it," he said in an unsure tone. "How often do you have yourself described to you as a character in a _fictional_ story?"

Yuna racked her brain to remember which story had had a person that resembled Oryon in it. "Which one was it?" 

"A story about a girl and her dragon Guardian," he murmured. "Tidus told me that he thought of it when he saw what I'd done with the old 'Draconis'. He thought maybe it had been inspired by someone who'd told me, but I'd never heard that story before Tidus himself told it to us." He sighed. "I painted the 'Draconis' golden and renamed it 'Guardian' because I'd had a dream about a golden dragon with the same name." 

Yuna frowned. That was exactly how Tidus had gotten his inspiration. It was more than a little ironic, especially considering the thoughts that she'd been having about Oryon earlier that day, and the part that the character Oryon had played in her husband's tale. Her mouth went dry. Was there more to this than just coincidence?

Oryon excused himself soon afterwards, leaving Yuna to chew on her thoughts alone beside the dying fire. She sighed and stood, resolving to sleep on the confusing issue.

~*~*~*~

A dragon stared at Yuna, his blue eyes watching hers with a bit of amusement twinkling in them. His draconic face held a familiar grin. On his back sat a girl, one who resembled her daughter in a remarkable way, and yet Yuna knew that she wasn't her daughter. The girl smiled and slid down from the dragons great scaly backside and landed perfectly on her two feet. "It's been a long time, Yuna," she said. The dragon nodded its agreement. 

Yuna gasped as a realization hit her. "Are you.. Destiny?" she asked a bit shakily as the dragon sat up on its haunches and yawned. 

She nodded. "So you do remember!" she said happily. The dragon's grin widened. 

"Oh, I- No, you see I only know about you because of what my husband told me," she said.

Guardian's grin grew wider, until it seemed to split his reptilian face in two. "So it worked," he said in his rough, rumbling voice. 

"It?" Yuna wondered. 

Guardian nodded. "It would be difficult to explain it to you, Lady Yuna, so I will only tell you that we are a memory, preserved in the deepest crevices of your mind. It's possible that you'll forget this dream entirely tomorrow morning." 

"A memory?" Yuna said confusedly. 

Destiny answered her, "Yeah. We sort of live on in the back of everyone's heads, even though we exist elsewhere in the true reality." 

Yuna raised an eyebrow. "Where are you now?"

Guardian snorted. "Wherever our body is," he said, and Yuna could tell from the look in his cerulean eyes that she wasn't going to get much more out of the humongous beast. 

Yuna watched the two of them. Everything about them seemed so familiar, and not just because she'd heard their story so many times. She felt like at one time she really had known them. They reminded her so much of her husband, and a litte of her daughter. They had identical eyes and the same grin, and Guardian's skin even appeared to be the same shade of yellow as Destiny's long hair. She reached forward, wanting to touch them, just to make sure that she was dreaming. They looked more realistic than anything she had ever seen in a dream. She took a few steps forward and stopped, unable to go any further. A hazy mist had begun to come between Yuna and the two joined souls. She cried out in surprise and ran forward, confused about what was happening. Guardian nosed the barrier and said comfortingly, "Don't worry about us, this _is_ just a dream, afterall."

~*~*~*~

Yuna awoke to a ray of sunlight in her eyes. She blinked, clearing her blurry vision and wishing that she could do the same to her jumbled thoughts. She could only barely remember the dream she'd been having. She remembered the dragon and the girl, but the rest was shrouded in the same hazy mist that had blocked her path to the two of them. She sighed and leaned back against her pillow, willing her sleepy body to fall back to sleep. 

"Mama!" 

Yuna winced. Her daughter, the early riser of the family, had not failed to realize that she was awake. She was over her mother in a second. "Get up, Mama!" she said. "Everyone else is already down at the beach!" 

The planned 'breakfast at the beach' came back to her. "Why didn't anyone wake me up earlier?" she asked. 

Her daughter grinned teasingly. "You just looked so peaceful," she said, "that nobody had the heart." 

Yuna smiled and shook her head, yawning. "Give me a few minutes and you and I can go to breakfast together," she said, rising from her bed.   
  
"'Kay Mama," her daughter said, wandering out of their cluttered home. 

Yuna dressed herself and brushed down her messy hair before washing up a bit, wanting to present herself well. She walked outside of her family's hut and stretched, blinking the sun out of her eyes. The seagulls called their morning greetings, wheeling through the bright sky on their white wings. She smiled. It was going to be a good day, she could feel it. 

She followed her energetic daughter to the beach, where delicious smells wafted around everywhere. The sand and the waters were both packed with people, islanders and Crusaders alike, enjoying the blessings that this beautiful day had brought to them so far. Wakka and Lulu waved the mother and daughter pair over, calling out to them, Wakka holding two trays in his hands, both complete with what he knew the two of them liked for breakfast. "Yuna! Destiny! C'mon, or you're not gonna get anything, ya?" he called. 

Yuna trailed over to Wakka and his family, Destiny skipping a bit ahead of her, grinning cheerfully. She plopped herself down beside Sanya and Ruka, who were both just finishing their own breakfasts, and and grabbed one of the trays Wakka had saved for them. Yuna sat down besides the adults, minus Rikku who was already out in the water. Wakka held out her tray and she took it, bowing thankfully and beginning to eat. The dream and the things Oryon had told her the day before were bothering her. Lulu noticed this quickly. "Thinking about something?" she asked, her smooth voice suspicious. 

Yuna sighed and nodded. "Have any of you met Oryon yet?" she asked. Wakka and Lulu both nodded, but it was Sanya who spoke up. 

"He's so cute, ya?" she said in a dreamy sort of way. "That long hair, those muscles.." She giggled and blushed. "He's only a bit older than me, ya?"

"Hey!" Ruka said. "How come I always have to remind you that you're _already_ going out with someone?" 

Sanya blushed even more and Destiny laughed. "Save some for us, lovergirl," she said. 

Yuna smiled. He _was_ handsome, but she could never think of him in the way they did. He reminded her too much of her older ex-guardian. She scanned the crowds for him, but the beach was too condensed to tell if he was anywhere near. She sighed. "He was telling me that he'd met Tidus before," she said. 

Lulu chuckled. "Almost everyone in Spira has met Tidus before," she said amusedly. "What did he tell you about him?" 

__

Once again, Yuna thought, _Lulu has seen right through me. _Out loud she said, "He told me that Tidus had told him the story about Destiny and Guardian, and just before that he'd had a dream about the two of them, not to mention that he was surprised to find that one of the main characters was almost exactly like him." 

Wakka raised an eyebrow. "That is sorta strange, ya? I had a dream about those two yesterday too.. weird, eh?" 

Sanya looked up, "You too, Pop?"

"Strange.." Yuna murmured. Destiny crossed her arms over her chest. 

"Okay, how many people other than me _didn't_ have a weird dream last night?" she asked. "Let's see a show of hands!" When no other hands raised, she faked a pouty face and said, "Great, now I'm all left out." 

This earned a laugh from the group, even one from Yuna, who was now staring out into the sea with a very faraway look in her eyes. She half-listened as Destiny told her two best friends about _her_ dream, which had focused on a certain long-haired Crusader. 

The words that Guardian had spoken to her before she had awoken came back to her briefly, breaking through the haze that seemed to guard her against the details of her dream. 

"Don't worry about us, this _is _just a dream, afterall." 

But how could so many people have the same dream, and why wouldn't her daughter? All of them had heard the story. She had the sudden urge to ask her husband about it, but he was in Luca. She sighed. It would have to wait until he got back. 

__

So many questions, so few answers.. 

~*~*~*~

****

THE END.. I think.. O_o

__

~*Her memory lives on in us.*~ 

**** __


End file.
